Rankings Shakeup: Israel Adesanya Reclaims No. 1 Middleweight Spot, But How Far Should Alex Pereira Fall?

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Israel Adesanya is once again MMA’s middleweight king.

“The Last Stylebender” reclaimed his crown in ferocious fashion at UFC 287, finally vanquishing his nemesis Alex Pereira with a highlight-reel second-round knockout to become a two-time UFC middleweight champion. Adesanya and Pereira are now tied with one win apiece in their MMA series, although Pereira still holds the upper hand 3-1 when counting their two kickboxing bouts. More importantly, however, Adesanya’s win propelled him back into a unanimous No. 1 spot at 185 pounds on MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings, with the champ gaining all eight first-place votes from our eight-person panel.

But considering his limited MMA résumé, how far down should Pereira fall?

Not far at all, it turns out.

Although votes were all over the board — with Pereira slotting in as high as second and as low as fifth on at least one ballot — “Poatan” settled in at No. 3 for this month’s rankings update, nestled only behind fellow UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.

Is that the right call? Should Pereira be No. 2 or should he be even lower than we have here?

Vote in the poll and leave a comment below.