Israel Adesanya makes prediction for UFC 303 showdown between his old nemesis Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka

Israel Adesanya has made his prediction for the UFC 303 main card between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka.

The former middleweight champion, who has a long-standing rivalry with Pereira, having fought him twice in the UFC, losing the first and winning the second, is well positioned to offer his point of view.

“Alex knows he can be taken down and controlled, and Jiri knows he can be knocked out.” explained in his Youtube channel.

‘But Alex also knows that Jiri can touch him and hurt him. Jiri will be aware (of his injuries), especially when you hurt him or if you think you have a moment, don’t rush. Just take your time. It will come.

‘Alex can surprise him too. If Jiri defeats him, Alex can surprise him with something new in the field he’s been working on.

“I’m going to go with Jiri, and I’m going to finish in the third or fourth round.”

Pereira has been one of the most impressive fighters in the UFC in recent years and became a two-division champion.

He won the vacant light heavyweight belt against Saturday’s opponent when they met for the first time at UFC 295, securing a second-round TKO.

And ‘Poatan’ then defended the belt against Jamahal Hill in the main event of UFC 300.

The pair agreed to a fight on short notice this weekend after Conor McGregor pulled out of his scheduled fight against Michael Chandler in Las Vegas.

McGregor is recovering from a broken pinky finger and has vowed to return when fully fit later this year.

Meanwhile, Adesanya recently confirmed that his return will be for the middleweight title against Dricus du Plessis on August 18 in Perth.