Israel Adesanya
Upside With Win: Big. In addition to continuing one of the great championship reigns in recent UFC history, a win on Saturday would tie the middleweight win streak record (13) held by one of his heroes: Anderson Silva.
Downside With Loss: Minimal. Outside of Pereira, Adesanya owns big wins over every middleweight in the top five, including two wins over the former champ, No. 1 contender Robert Whittaker.
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Alex Pereira
Upside With Win: Huge. Winning the middleweight championship just four fights into his UFC career would allow him to jump over tough outs like Whittaker, Marvin Vettori and Jared Cannonier. Already owning two pro kickboxing wins over Adesanya, a third would cement him as the proverbial kryptonite of the current champ.
Downside With Loss: Low. On the heels of a meteoric rise up the middleweight rankings, the former Glory champion would likely still be right in the mix of fighters attempting to dethrone “The Last Stylebender.”
