After competing against each other for seven years, featuring in two different sports and three fights, Alex Pereira seems to have Israel Adesanya’s number as he has beaten Adesanya thrice. In the last fight, UFC 281, Pereira won the middleweight title.

Come Saturday, Adesanya gets another shot at his long-term rival in the main event of UFC 287. However, it remains to be seen whether Adesanya can break his duck or Pereira continues his dominance. Let’s analyze what each fighter needs to do to emerge victorious.

Paths to Victory for Alex Pereira at UFC 287

Despite his unbeaten record over Adesanya, there are areas Pereira needs to work on to avoid defeat in the upcoming bout. In the last fight, Pereira was trailing, and his corner had to emphasize the need to knock out Adesanya to get the win.

Although Pereira pinned Adesanya to the canvas, Pereira couldn’t find the early knockout. The strategy for him should thus be to continue fighting with urgency, as he did in the fifth round, and maximize the power shot advantage he has over Adesanya. To win, he should opt for combinations and relentless pressure as Adesanya has a solid defense that’s difficult to penetrate.

Perhaps, Pereira would win if he is less committed to defense. During the last fight, Adesanya found offensive opportunities off his feints, which Pereira failed to counter, and that got him off his game entirely. To counter this, the best option for Pereira is to focus on firing back counters instead of worrying about the plethora of feints Adesanya could dish out. This approach could open doors for Adesanya to land punches, but it is a risk Pereira should take to gain a clear advantage.

Paths to victory for Israel Adesanya at UFC 287

Adesanya boasts of most of the combined minutes he has spent with Pereira, which goes to show that he is the superior fighter despite losing thrice. Adesanya has been ahead on scorecards on two occasions but still ended up getting finished.

Adesanya is known to cede ground to Pereira, playing defense and looking for counters. Adesanya should switch his style to move the fight to Pereira more often, forcing him to fight on the back foot, where he struggles. Additionally, grappling could work out for Adesanya as he nearly got an early finish.