UFC 287: Adesanya ready to prove his greatness by finally beating Pereira

Israel Adesanya is ready to "remind people how great I am" when the UFC's former middleweight champion aims to reclaim his title in an immediate rematch with long-time nemesis Alex Pereira.

Adesanya had held the middleweight belt for more than three years, since beating Robert Whittaker in October 2019, and had five successful title defences. That was until UFC 281 in November last year when, despite leading on the scorecards, he was stopped in the fifth round by Pereira.

Determined for an immediate shot at the title, the Nigerian-born New Zealander will be back in the Octagon on Saturday for UFC 287 in Miami for a rematch against a fighter he has lost to in each of their three encounters across different disciplines.

Even though he is the challenger, the 33-year-old Adesanya is the slight favourite, a status he is choosing to ignore, instead offering his own narrative of a comeback he called “one of the greatest storylines in MMA history”.

“Not many people get the opportunity to show how great they are, to rise to the occasion when all the odds are stacked against them, when people have counted them out," Adesanya said. "For me, this fight I feel like the underdog. I feel like everyone’s counting me out. They’ve forgot what I’ve done in this game. They’ve forgot who I am, and it’s time to remind people how great I am.”

Perhaps one reason Adesanya (23-2) wants this fight against Pereira (7-1) so quickly was because he was beating the Brazilian 39-37 on all three scorecards entering the fifth and final round at Madison Square Garden in New York. Pereira could only win by knockout, and that's what he got 2:01 into the round.

That loss ended Adesanya's 12-match winning streak at middleweight, one short of Anderson Silva's