‘Something’s different’… Israel Adesanya sides with longtime rival in Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira 2 prediction

Alex Pereira’s four-time combat sports rival, Israel Adesanya, predicts the Brazilian will dethrone Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira will look for revenge this weekend when he takes on newly minted light heavyweight titleholder Magomed Ankalaev in the UFC 320 main event. Their rematch comes just months after Ankalaev ended Pereira’s unbeaten light heavyweight run, defeating Pereira by unanimous decision to secure the title.

Since their first fight, tensions have ramped up between Ankalaev and Pereira. Ankalaev hasn’t lost a fight since his 2018 UFC debut and has dominated his opposition. Meanwhile, Pereira is looking to secure a similar result to when he suffered his first UFC loss to Israel Adesanya at UFC 287, as he rebounded with a win over Jan Blachowicz in his next appearance.

After their four fights, Adesanya and Pereira share a lot of mutual respect, and Adesanya is predicting Pereira will get his revenge this weekend and reclaim the light heavyweight throne.

Israel Adesanya shares his prediction for UFC 320 main event

In a recent breakdown on his YouTube channel, Adesanya explained his prediction for the UFC 320 headliner.

“I think Alex is more prepared for this fight, more motivated. He hasn’t lost at light heavyweight and had that fire like ‘F— man, I gotta get this back’,” Adesanya said. “There’s something different when you want to ‘get back’. For this fight, I’m going to go with Alex Pereira. I don’t know if he finishes Magomed because I’ve never seen him finished. But it’s not going to be an easy fight, based on the first fight, from what I’ve seen.

“Alex will have to gain Magomed’s respect heavily, straight away, for it to be a finish. From the last fight, and just shut down that confidence. I’ve done it before, I’ve done it to Alex before as well. But it’s easier said than done, but I think Alex can do it. So I’m going to go ‘Poatan’ by unanimous decision.”

Pereira has repeatedly claimed he entered his first fight with Ankalaev with a slew of injuries that impacted his performance. As of this writing, Pereira appears at full health as he looks to bounce back and dethrone Ankalaev.