Israel Adesanya makes precise prediction ahead of Alex Pereira’s fight with Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 – Bloody Elbow
Alex Pereira’s two-time UFC rival Israel Adesanya gave an in-depth breakdown on how he sees the UFC 313 main event playing out.UFC light heavyweight titleholder Alex Pereira faces what might be the toughest test of his MMA career this weekend at UFC 313. Magomed Ankalaev, who enters UFC 313 on a 13-fight unbeaten streak, is expected to give Pereira a difficult puzzle to solve inside the Octagon.But Pereira enters UFC 313 with a lot of momentum after three successful title defenses in 2024. If Pereira wins this weekend, he’d become the fastest light heavyweight champ to defend the title four times (329 days), surpassing Jon Jones.Israel Adesanya and Pereira became cordial after their four fights in their combat sports careers. Adesanya is arguably more familiar with Pereira’s skill set and style than anyone else on the UFC roster, and his opinions on Pereira’s fights hold a lot of merit.Adesanya doesn’t see Pereira’s clash with Ankalaev going the five-round distance, despite Ankalaev’s elite wrestling abilities.In a recent upload to his FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel, Adesanya shared his prediction for Pereira vs. Ankalaev.“Leg kicks, let’s just address the elephant in the room. That’s going to be a factor in this fight,” Adesanya said of Pereira vs. Ankalaev. “[Ankalaev] might have to be a wrestler for this fight…I think ego is a part of it where, he’s saying what he wants to say to get the fight. Ankalaev is going to try to take him down…can he keep him down? Pereira is a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu now; he keeps getting better…kicks are going to force Magomed to wrestle.“I’m going to go Pereira because, momentum. He’s just on a tear right now, and I like the way he’s able to do it with the amount of travel he does…but Ankalaev, speed, he’ll have to catch Alex when he made a mistake. So counters, if he catches him on a counter, it could be a dangerous night. But I think he’s going to go leg kicks, leg kicks, leg kicks, left hook. Alex Pereira by KO…he’s going to knock him out in the fourth or fifth round.”Ankalaev struggled to counter leg kicks in his first UFC title shot at UFC 282 against Jan Blachowicz. His legs buckled multiple times in response to Blachowicz’s kicks, opening the door for Pereira to utilize his signature calf strikes.Pereira has been busy leading up to UFC 313. He cornered former middleweight titleholder Sean Strickland at UFC 312 just weeks ago in Australia and has traveled to multiple destinations during his hiatus. This gives UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier cause for concern ahead of UFC 313. Cormier wonders if Pereira’s hefty travel plans ahead of UFC 313 will impact his performance, especially against a surging contender like Ankalaev.Pereira denied Cormier’s concerns ahead of UFC 313, sending him a message on Instagram. Pereira told Cormier ‘Don’t worry, we’re over here working’ along with a clip from his training camp.Another of Pereira’s former rivals, Jamahal Hill, is picking against him at UFC 313. Hill believes Ankalaev could knock out Pereira if he lands counters in ideal situations on the feet.As Pereira prepares for possibly the toughest outing of his MMA career, Adesanya has his back and expects Pereira to retain the light heavyweight title at UFC 313.
