It seems Alex Pereira is on a lot of minds of late. His former nemesis ‘Stylebender’ Israel Adesanya has been speaking about him this week and, rather surprisingly, heaped praise on the Brazilian.  

The pair have shared an intense rivalry throughout their respective kickboxing and mixed  martial arts careers, with Pereira beating Adesanya three times before ‘The Last Stylebender’ finally got the edge over ‘Poatan’ in their last meeting a year ago. 

Pereira won their first meeting in the kickboxing ring by decision back in 2016 and then knocked out Adesanya in a rematch eleven months later. 

He then finished Adesanya in the fifth round at UFC 281 to claim the middleweight title  in only his sixth professional MMA bout, before Adesanya reclaimed the belt a few months later with a devastating right hook. 

Adesanya went on to lose the belt to Sean Strickland and has since been on a self imposed sabbatical from the sport. He was an interested spectator as Pereira moved up to the light heavyweight division, before winning and then defending the belt in that  division too. 

Speaking with former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson on his YouTube  channel this week, Adesanya had nothing but praise for Pereira, and insists the Brazilian brings out the best in him: 

“He’s a special fighter” said Adesanya. “He’s a special human being. What he’s done in  this game, in fighting, and for his life as well, I’ll always respect him. I’m grateful for  those moments because, for me, it taught me so much about myself and where I can  go”. 

Despite losing the first three fights in their series, Adesanya insists the fights were  closer than that record suggests: 

“First fight in China, I thought I won. These casuals don’t. These plebs don’t. I thought I  won. Even he thought I won until he got his hand raised. Second fight, I’m beating his ass  and he gets me. Again in New Your (UFC 281) I’m beating him. Rocked him, took him  down, held him down, beat him and he gets me…I just knew that I can beat this guy”. 

With Adesanya rumoured to be coming back to challenge Dricus Du Plessis for the  185lb title, and Alex Pereira seemingly looking upwards toward the heavyweight division  for his next challenge, it seems the pair are out of each other’s crosshairs…for now at least.

Despite being just two weeks removed from his defeat to Alex Pereira in the main event at UFC 300, Jamahal Hill is climbing straight back on the horse and already has his next fight lined up. ‘Sweet Dreams’ is scheduled to face Khalil Roundtree Jr at UFC 303 on June 29^th. 

The card will be headlined by the long-awaited return of ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor, and Hill has elected to step straight back into fight camp rather than sit on the sidelines and recover from the devastating first round knockout he suffered at the hands of Pereira. 

Rountree will be coming into this bout on a five-fight winning streak and has finished seven of his 9 UFC victories by knockout. Sitting at #8 in the UFC’s light heavyweight rankings, Rountree will surely see a victory over a former champion like Hill as a short cut to a title shot. 

Given that Hill will likely have received a 60-day medical suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, and there are only 77 days separating UFCs 300 and 303, there are certainly questions to be raised about the decision of Hill and his team to take this fight. 

Hill explained in an interview with The Schmo that he sees the proximity of the two fights  being a positive for his physical preparations, and that he is focused on avenging the loss to Pereira: 

“I’m already in good shape” he explained. “I’m feeling good, heading into another camp  just makes sense, I get to go into a camp in shape instead of going into camp off a layoff  so I think that’ll be a huge plus and will help me go out and put on the performance I  need to against Khalil Rountree to put myself back in position to get that Alex Pereira fight back. 

“It’s about getting back to that fight, I want to fight Alex again just because of the narrative surrounding it ” 

Hill originally won the 205lb title after defeating Pereira’s coach Glover Teixeira over five rounds at UFC 283 in January of 2023. He then ruptured his Achilles tendon last July and vacated the belt which Pereira won by beating Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 in November.

After much deliberation, striking veterans Liam Harrison and Seksan Or Kwanmuang have finally found a date for their highly anticipated clash. 

The pair will meet in a 140-pound catchweight Muay Thai contest when ONE Championship returns to the U.S. for ONE 168: Denver on Saturday, 7th September. 

The event inside Denver, Colorado’s Ball Arena is already stacking up to be one of the biggest cards of the year for the world’s largest martial arts organization, and the addition of this matchup will only increase the hype among martial arts fans. 

Harrison has been on the sidelines for some time now. He suffered a worrying knee injury when he challenged former ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Nong-O Hama for the gold at ONE on Prime Video 1 in August 2022, and he had to overcome further complications before thinking about a return to action. 

The British striking legend will have a chance to shake off the cobwebs before colliding with Seksan, however, as he is scheduled to make his way back to ONE for a battle with Katsuki Kitano at ONE 167: Stamp vs. Zamboanga on 8th June.

“Hitman” will need all the preparation he can get for his match with Seksan. The former Rajadamnern Stadium and WBC Muay Thai World Champion has built a fearsome reputation in ONE Championship over the last 15 months, given that he amassed eight consecutive wins after his debut last January. 

Seksan appeared unstoppable in the promotion until he met Japanese star Yutaro Asashi at ONE Friday Fights 58 earlier this month.

After three thrilling rounds of Muay Thai, the Thai veteran fell to a unanimous decision loss, which means he’ll be charged up for a triumphant return to form against Harrison. 

And with “Hitman” keen to find his way back to the top in ONE, their clash in Denver on 7th September is all but guaranteed to be a barnburner.