Nigerian UFC champion Israel Adesanya is looking for revenge against the only fighter to knock him out (video)

Nigerian-born Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has revealed he is on a revenge mission.

Adesanya has set his sights on Brazilian Alex Pereira the only man to knock him out in his professional career.

Alex Pereira on Saturday, November 6th made a good start to his UFC career. In their kickboxing days, Pereira recorded two wins against Adesanya and the talented Nigerian is eager for a rematch.

Pereira was in action at UFC 268 and recorded a victory over Andreas Michailidis with a jumping knee knockout.

Pereira is not as experienced as Adesanya in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) but Adesanya is hoping for revenge in the octagon.

Adesanya made this known in a recap of events of UFC 268 on his official YouTube account.

He said, "Cause you know he’s going to shoot, well-timed knee just straight up. Bang. There it is. I thought he was going to do it when he shot in, but I didn’t think he was going to fly at him.

'We talked about this like two days ago. We need something new. Especially after you lap the division again. … Good job Pereira, that was nice. 

'One thing I notice is everyone always holds on to that win he has over me like it’s the be all end all. I hope he does well. I hope he does well through the ranks. In the next four fights, I hope to see him. 

'They’ll show you the knockout, but they won’t show you what happened before the finish. I hurt him, but I only throw (hands) because I was infiltrated by other people’s thoughts. 

'But that was when I was younger. Not any more. It’s different now. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.'

Adesanya is expected to return to action early next year and a fight against Pereira can not be ruled out in 2022.