At UFC 281, which takes place inside Madison Square Garden

on Saturday, Israel Adesanya will face off against a familiar

foe in Alex Pereira in an attempt to make

his sixth defence of the middleweight title.

Although Pereira (6-1) has participated in more than three times

as many MMA fights as Adesanya (23-1), the UFC rushed

this meeting owing to their shared history. In professional kickboxing,

Pereira has defeated Adesanya twice, most recently by brutal knockout in 2017.