Glover Teixeira noted that focus and vigilance are key to ensuring Alex Pereira (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) earns another victory over Israel Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) in of their encounter at UFC 287.
The reigning UFC middleweight champion has won two kickboxing titles and an MMA title.
MMA’s win was the most publicized of the series when Pereira pulled off a stunning draw that saw him claim the 185-pound belt with a fifth-round TKO against Adesanya last November at UFC 281. He is now 3-0 in singles.. by one, but Adesanya may have won the vast majority of the fight in real time.
Teixeira, a recently retired former UFC light heavyweight champion who is Pereira’s trainer and mentor, knows the next fight will likely be the toughest of them all. He knows it will take outstanding performance to win again and said execution was a key focus of training camp.
“He knows how we won the last fight – he waited too long to pull the trigger,” Teixeira told MMA Junkie. “He just needs to be more careful in this fight because Izzy, he’s fast. He moves a lot and that’s what we worked on. Be alert, focused, and when the opportunity arises, see the fight through. He is a finisher. He can end the fight at any time. He is strong. The guy hits really hard and he just needs to push harder and get his way, like he did in the fifth round. Of course, he knows you can’t just go crazy and try to end the fight in the first round. But we have to be more vigilant. »
If Pereira can win at UFC 287, which takes place April 8 at Miami-Dade Arena in Miami and goes live on pay-per-view after pre-releases on ESPN and ESPN+, he could move on to new challenges.
Teixeira noted that Pereira is capable of competing in three weight divisions and does not rule out changing divisions in the future.
