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Israel Adesanya to defend middleweight title vs. old rival Alex Pereira in UFC 281 headliner

The UFC has its Madison Square Garden main event.

Israel Adesanya will defend his UFC middleweight title against old rival Alex Pereira in the headliner of UFC 281 on Nov. 12 in New York, Adesanya announced Friday on SportsCenter.

Pereira owns two wins over Adesanya in kickboxing, including one via knockout. ESPN has Adesanya ranked tied for third on its pound-for-pound MMA list. At middleweight, Adesanya is No. 1 and Pereira is No. 7. Pereira, a former two-division Glory Kickboxing champion, beat Adesanya in kickboxing once by decision in 2016 and then again a year later via knockout.