Watch: Israel Adesanya Reminds Alex Pereira ‘I’m Still Here’

The countdown to UFC 281 has already begun.

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will meet newcomer Alex Pereira, who is also known as the only man to ever knock out Adesanya – back in their kickboxing days. Adesanya posted a promo to keep the fans hyped.

“The one who laughs the last laughs the best,” he says in the video.

“When I fought him, I thought I won the first fight. In the second fight, he was honestly on skates, the referee saved his a– because I was about to drop him. The third round he knocks me out in his own country – that’s a beautiful story for him, but I’m still here.”

Pereira won in both of their previous bouts under kickboxing rules.

Adesanya will defend his title for the eighth time at the November 12 pay-per-view event. He has yet to be dethroned ever since winning it over Kelvin Gastelum in April 2019.

Pereira was one of the biggest names in GLORY Kickboxing before signing with the UFC. Since then, he has racked up victories in all three of his UFC matchups. He last knocked out Sean Strickland on the undercard of Adesanya vs Jared Cannonier in July.