Regardless of what happens Saturday at UFC 281, [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] will forever be linked.
Former two-time kickboxing opponents, Adesanya and Pereira are on the verge of a quasi-trilogy bout under a different rule set. Their kickboxing matches, both won by Pereira, seem like they took place during a different lifetime on an alternate planet.
While so much has changed, a lot has remained the same. Adesanya and Pereira still rely heavily on the discipline that got them to the big dance, a UFC middleweight title fight at Madison Square Garden. They’re mixed martial artists now, but still kickboxers.
Adesanya and Pereira have that direct linkage already, but the web extends beyond. Four men shared the ring with both during their kickboxing days. They know what it truly feels like to be kicked, punched and even sometimes knocked out by the fighters on the UFC 281 marquee.