Israel Adesanya claims UFC 281 opponent Alex Pereira only a six on the ‘threat meter’

Israel Adesanya is not intimidated by Alex Pereira in the slightest.

‘The Last Stylebender’ might be 0-2 against ‘Poatan’ in kickboxing, but he doesn’t think the latter poses much of a threat in MMA, rating Pereira only a six on the ‘threat meter’ due to how one-dimensional of a fighter he is.

Adesanya was knocked out by Pereira at Glory Heroes of 7 but claims their rematch at UFC 281 will be a completely different story, hinting that he already has a strategy in place to defeat the Brazilian on Nov. 12.

“Threat meter, to be honest, as an MMA fighter… I’ll give him a six, if I’m being honest…Completely honest: threat meter six,” Adesanya told Combat TV ahead of his title defense against Pereira (h/t Sportskeeda). “There’s one thing he’s really good at. It’s that left hook and that’s what he catches many people with. He’s not going to catch me with a flying knee.”

“Left hook, that’s the main thing to look forward to… Yeah, if I can take care of that, I can take care of everything else.”

UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira will see Adesanya put his middleweight title on the line in a five-round main event at New York’s Madison Square Garden on November 12, 2022.