Dan Hardy: Alex Pereira probably will finish Israel Adesanya again at UFC 287 – maybe even quicker

Dan Hardy sees Alex Pereira getting the best of Israel Adesanya again.

Middleweight champion Pereira (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) rematches Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 287 main event at Kaseya Center in Miami. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

Pereira will look to notch his fourth win over Adesanya. “Poatan” defeated Adesanya twice in kickboxing, then dethroned him by Round 5 knockout at UFC 281 to capture the middleweight title. Hardy thinks it’s a 50-50 matchup, but sees two attributes in Pereira’s favor, which makes him think the outcome will remain the same.

“I’m kind of leaning toward Pereira,” Hardy told Submission Radio. “I feel like when fighters are so evenly matched – and they are; technically these guys are quite evenly matched – there are differences in the way they approach it. Adesanya’s a slicker striker. If I wanted to learn striking off one of the two of them, it would be Adesanya because I feel like he’s got a much better understanding of the striking game overall, because he’s probably had to work harder for it, because he’s not as powerful. He’s got double the experience in kickboxing, as well as much more MMA experience.

“Sometimes I just feel like size and strength makes the difference. And because Pereira’s now kind of got Adesanya’s number in kickboxing and MMA, I feel like he’s probably going to find him again – might be a little bit earlier this time. There are two ways it goes, and it depends on Adesanya’s durability, I think. He’s either going to get stopped earlier than he did last time – late second, early third – or we’re going to see him get knocked down a few times and lose rounds quite big and then lose a decision and Pereira remains champion.”

Although Pereira finished Adesanya in their first MMA fight, he had to come from behind after being down 3-1 on the judges’ scorecards. But Pereira vows to leave no doubt this time and doesn’t plan on seeing “The Stylebender” again.

"I will never face him again": @AlexPereiraUFC plans to ensure #UFC287 is the last he EVER sees of Israel Adesanya.

Full interview: https://t.co/F68qwk690r pic.twitter.com/0yWPWS24Zv

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) April 5, 2023

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.