UFC 287: Alex Pereira spars with Chuck Liddell at training camp for his bout against Israel Adesanya

In just ten days, Alex Pereira, the reigning middleweight champion of the UFC will be challenged by his old foe Israel Adesanya. Just a few days before the battle, Pereira requested a special sparring partner for the final preparation, and that person turned out to be none other than Chuck Liddell, a UFC veteran.

Alex "POATAN" Pereira is THE MIND HUNDER !!! #AlexPereira #UFC287 #IsraelAdesanya #mindhunter pic.twitter.com/8uI2kajH0o

— MMA Pros Pick (@MMA_Pros_Pick) March 22, 2023

The middleweight title bout between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira is expected to be quite interesting for MMA fans. On April 8 at the Miami-Dade Arena in Miami, Florida, the two old adversaries will square off again in the main event of UFC 287.

UFC 287 main card 🔥🤩 #UFC287 pic.twitter.com/VMBT3CkrQ5

— DiaztwinsMMA (@DiaztwinsMMA) March 21, 2023

Why did Alex Pereira choose to spar with Chuck Liddell?

Poatan will face The Last Stylebender once again in just five months to defend his title. Although the Brazilian fighter had other plans after defeating Adesanya and winning the title, the Kiwi MMA fighter chose to engage in a rematch right away.

Alex Pereira on the pads. 💣 pic.twitter.com/9EryKDYqCH

— Beyond Kickboxing (@Beyond_Kick) February 17, 2023

The pressure is now on Pereira to once again demonstrate that Adesanya, the former middleweight champion, is no match for him. Ahead of this once-in-a-lifetime fight, Pereira needed extra motivation to give his best in the sparring session.

In a recently released video on the Brazilian fighter’s social media, Chuck Liddell was spotted. The former UFC light heavyweight kingpin was seen helping Pereira to do sparring during the training session. Undoubtedly, the current middleweight champ couldn’t have found anyone better to get that extra push to give one hundred percent in the octagon as Chuck revolutionized MMA in the USA.

https://youtu.be/mhk3lwg1hpI

Beating Adesanya is not anything new to Alex. Previously, the number one ranked middleweight fighter defeated the two ranked fighters of the division thrice. Other than their last encounter in the UFC 281, Poatan also defeated Izzy twice in kickboxing.