Only Man To Beat Adesanya, Pereira Picks UFC 281 Winner

Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira is going down tonight at UFC 281 ... and not a damn person knows who's going to win.

But, there's one fighter who not only faced the men (others have), he beat them both (something no one else has done) ... Jason Wilnis, former Glory middleweight champion. Wilnis is 1-0 against Israel (decision win, 2017) ... and 2-1 against Alex (decision win in 2015, TKO win in 2012).

TMZ Sports talked to Wilnis ... and we asked him to compare the two world-class fighters.

First, who hits harder?

"I can say, from my experience, that Alex Pereira hits harder, man. His punches aren't normal, man."

And, Wilnis says it isn't just punching power where AP has the edge ... he's got the overall strength advantage, too.

"The last time I fought [Pereira], he was so strong. You can see he put in work in the last years. He was too strong, too quick, so yeah, I think Pereira gives me bigger problems right now."

As for who's going to win, fans and experts alike are torn, and so is Wilnis.

"It's hard to say, man, but if I go for the experience, you know, Adesanya got the experience. He got the smarter moves but if I go for the hunger, the beast, it's Pereira. He's very hungry, so it's difficult to say," Jason told us.

But, when push comes to shove, he's going with Pereira, because Adesanya has already reached the MMA mountaintop, but Alex hasn't.

"I would say Pereira, man, for the hunger."

Of course, Adesanya, despite being the undisputed middleweight champ and a bonafide superstar, he isn't exactly lacking hunger ... and with teammate Alex Volkanovski, he may well be the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter on the planet.