The historic rematch between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira at UFC 287 was a fight many were looking forward to with great anticipation. Having faced each other three times before, Pereira had always been the bane of Adesanya’s career.

Though Adesanya had emerged victorious in his fights with other middleweights, he had lost to Pereira twice before in kickboxing and was defeated by him in their first encounter in the UFC in November 2021. However, Adesanya was determined to make amends and ensure a different outcome in their fourth fight and second rematch in the UFC.

In the recently released episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer, Matt Brown analyzed Adesanya’s approach to the fight and lauded him for the significant changes he had made in his tactics. Brown noted that Adesanya had stopped trying to neutralize Pereira and instead fought back with a more aggressive style, even making use of the famous rope-a-dope technique to gain an advantage.

Brown praised Adesanya for his remarkable comeback story, which saw him overcome all the challenges and emerge victorious. Despite Adesanya’s success in his fight with Pereira, many fans wondered if he would use his wrestling skills in the rematch, especially after his grappling proved effective in the previous fight.

However, Brown noted that Adesanya was so confident in his striking abilities that he had no intention of using his grappling. His aim was to beat Pereira on the feet, and he accomplished that goal convincingly with his devastating kicks and punches.

Brown also commended Adesanya for taking a risk and fighting the way he did, especially considering the reputations of both fighters. He believed efforts like these demonstrated the qualities that make a champion and placed Adesanya firmly amongst the top five GOATs in MMA history.

Brown further opined that Adesanya’s performances against other top Middleweights such as Jared Cannonier and Marvin Vettori displayed both his versatility and dominance against the rest of the division.

Brown felt that when compared to other GOATs in the sport-like Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre, Adesanya’s resume was comparable, and his recent triumph over Pereira was something very special that highlighted his unique fighting abilities.