Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira had a fierce battle inside the ring and cage, but outside, it was all love.
After two kickboxing bouts and one UFC title fight, Adesanya finally defeated Pereira at UFC 287 in April 2023 to regain the middleweight title and earn his first victory in four straight fights. Since then, Adesanya has lost the title to Sean Strickland and taken a hiatus from his independent career, while Pereira has moved up a weight class to become light heavyweight champion.
Adesanya and Pereira have had a lot of fun at each other's expense over the course of their feud, but for the most part they've spoken publicly about the mutual respect between them. The Last Stylebender considers his time with Pereira one of the defining stories of his career, one that has yet to be fully written.
“Honestly, he's a special fighter,” Adesanya told Demetrius Johnson. mighty cast. “He's a special human being. What he accomplished in this game, in fighting and in life, I'll always respect him. I'm grateful for that moment, because it meant a lot to me, about myself and Because it taught me a lot about where I could go. Like the Kelvin Gastelum fight, it made me think I could go further. That one, I was ready to die for, but this one. , I realized, “No way, this guy, I swear to God, I'm going to die…Fourth time's the charm.”
“That's when I realized that there are levels in Israel. I can go further. I can go further. Stay tuned. It won't take more than seven years to get it. [Sean] Strickland. Please look forward to it. ”
Adesanya and Pereira's history is well documented, with Pereira winning their first kickboxing match by a controversial decision and their second kickboxing match with a vicious knockout punch out of nowhere. The first time the two fought in MMA was at UFC 281. Adesanya led 39-37 on all three scorecards, but Pereira caught him in the fifth round with a fight-ending slapstick.
When Pereira scored a hard-hitting KO victory in their rematch at UFC 287, he made sure to celebrate in style. He even taunted Pereira's son when he knocked out Adesanya in their second kickboxing match.
“Do you know when you go out?” Adesanya said. “You are so conscious that you see everything. You saw everything. You knew something was going on. [Donald] Next to Dana are Trump, Kid Rock and Mike Tyson. [White]. I knew where my family was, I knew where his family was. So as soon as that happened, I stood up and once again, I knew what I wanted to do in the back locker room. I thought, “I'm going to hit him with his shit, but now it's mine.” So *bap* *bap* Then I walked around, “Where are they?” Hey! ' (Reenactment of the celebration)'
Adesanya has suffered defeat in MMA three times, to Pereira and Strickland, and once to Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title. He is currently awaiting his next booking, likely a showdown with middleweight champion Drikas du Plessis, but as long as he and Pereira remain active, there is no hope for a third bout between them. There will always be demand.
Both fighters have been asked repeatedly about a possible MMA trilogy match, but Adesanya isn't convinced it's necessary.
“This guy, the first time I fought him in China, I thought he won,” Adesanya told Demetrius Johnson. mighty cast. “Anyone who saw the fight, I don't know these casual people, I don't know these plebeians, I thought I won. I thought I won until he raised his hand too. Yeah nice.” Second fight, I'm spanking him and he catches me. And again, New York breaks it, shakes him down, pins him down, punches him, and he catches me. ”
“I knew I could beat this guy,” Adesanya continued. “It's not about proving anything to anyone else, it's about myself. I was in a different place last time against Miami because I know I can beat this guy. I was in the dark for that camp. I had to step in. People who knew me, I was different. I was like, 'There's no way this guy is going to beat me four times.' This is about the story. So now I beat him once. Ironically, I beat him once, but then look at this. If I fight him again, I'll knock him out, what's that? what are they going to say? “It's 3-2. That's the best out of 7.'' Brother, I'm his 34 year old. Also, there's only a few matches left, so why fight the same guy over and over again? I just wanted to prove to myself who's the best. ”
