Daniel Cormier insists Israel Adesanya should be allowed an immediate rematch with Alex Pereira
Former UFC champion Daniel Cormier believes there should be no question on whether Israel Adesanya should get an immediate rematch.
At UFC 281, Adesanya was brutally TKO’d by Alex Pereira in the final round of their bout, ending his three-year reign as champion.
This would mark Adesanya’s third loss to Pereira across MMA and kickboxing, the last two of which ended by knockout.
Daniel Cormier said on his RC&DC show that Adesanya should be fighting Pereira straight away, regardless of past results.
“Well, if you are team Adesanya, you don’t want [the fight] to go any differently outside of the ending because he was fighting well,” Cormier said. “It’s not like he was getting beat. He has not been washed out in any of these fights. Most thought he won the first fight [in kickboxing], and believed that he got robbed.
“Yes, immediate rematch!” Cormier argued. “If Israel Adesanya doesn’t get an immediate rematch, then who does? Adesanya’s defended the belt six times! He was on a twelve-fight win streak to start his middleweight career in the UFC. He has earned, if anyone has earned, an immediate rematch. It’s this guy.”
Cormier would raise the valid point that no one questioned whether Kamaru Usman deserved an immediate title shot when he lost to Leon Edwards.
“No one questioned whether Usman was going to get a rematch,” Cormier said. “It was like, ‘Well, when is Usman going to get a rematch?’ It’s ultimately when he decides he wants to fight Leon Edwards again, or when Leon Edwards is ready. It should be the same case for Adesanya. Adesanya has done way too much in this game to have to rebuild and fight someone else.”
“I don’t know if you benefit from putting these two dudes against other people because I truly do believe there are very difficult match ups for Alex Pereira that weren’t difficult for Israel Adesanya.” (H/T MMAMania)
