Dana White open to an immediate rematch between Adesanya and Pereira

UFC President Dana White is not ruling out the possibility of giving Israel Adesanya an immediate rematch against the new UFC middleweight world champion Alex Pereira following their epic encounter at UFC 281 this past weekend at the Madison Square Garden in New York.

“I would not rule it out. You have got to show Israel [respect],” White answered when asked about a second meeting in mixed martial arts between the two.

“I was saying that this week and it’s the absolute truth, Israel Adesanya did not flinch about taking this fight. He likes to fight all the time. He took this fight. He wanted this fight. A lot of people talk publicly and it is a whole different story behind the scene. That guy is an absolute stud.”

The 33-year-old Adesanya, who previously lost twice to Pereira in kickboxing with one of them via knockout, was ahead on points and was on his way to what could have been a victory on the scorecards until he was stopped via technical knockout in the fifth and final round.

It was only Adesanya’s second defeat as a mixed martial artist as he fell to 23-2 while Pereira improved to 7-1 having won a world title in just his fourth appearance in the UFC.

“[Adesanya] always wants to stay active and a fight that most guys would stall, give me more time, this, and that. He dove right into this fight. His only loss was when he tried to move up in weight to 205. You have got to respect him as a champ and what he has done,” White said.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News