Regardless of what happens Saturday at UFC 281 , Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira will forever be linked. Former two-time kickboxing opponents, Adesanya and Pereira are on the verge of a quasi-trilogy bout under a different rule set. Their kickboxing matches, both won by Pereira , seem like they took place during a different lifetime on an alternate planet. While so much has changed, a lot has remained the same. Adesanya and Pereira still rely heavily on the discipline that got them to the big dance, a UFC middleweight title fight at Madison Square Garden. They’re mixed martial artists now, but still kickboxers