Sean O’Malley shared his prediction for the highly anticipated UFC 281 main event.
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira will go toe-to-toe for the third time in their careers. However, it will be the first time the pair will square off inside the Octagon with 4oz gloves.
Rising bantamweight star Sean O’Malley recently discussed the upcoming matchup on his Youtube channel and gave his official prediction for when the former kickboxing rivals collide.
Sean O’ Malley praises Israel Adesanya’s body of work
“It drives me crazy when people start talking about Izzy’s last performances, how they’re ‘not entertaining,’” O’Malley voiced. “He’s been defending the belt, he’s been an active champion, he’s fighting the number one guys, he’s fighting the next guys in line, and sometimes fights aren’t the most fun, but he’s still continuing to put on performances for the fans.”
O’Malley also outlined an encounter with Pereira. Despite the Brazilian not speaking much English, the 28-year-old could feel he was in the presence of a scary individual.
“I like Alex. I met him once, didn’t really talk. I don’t think he speaks much English,” Sean O’Malley said. “He’s giant, he’s f**king terrifying, he’s a scary human being – but I’d love to see Izzy win. With those little gloves and those guys are both that high-level strikers, that’s a f**king coin flip, but I do agree with you. I think Izzy has more tricks, especially in an Octagon.”
On Saturday night, Adesanya is hunting for revenge after Pereira attained two victories over the champion in kickboxing. The first was in 2016, where Pereira secured a unanimous decision victory that could have fallen either way. The second in 2017 saw Pereira knock Adesanya out cold in devasting fashion.
Adesanya aims to continue his dominant reign over the middleweight division with a sixth consecutive title defence. At the same time, Pereira hopes to capture the middleweight championship in just his fourth fight in the UFC.
Watch Sean O’Malley reveal his thoughts on Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira below:
Do you agree with Sean O’Malley’s take on the UFC 281 headliner?