Israel Adesanya has spent a lot of time in combat arenas with Alex Pereira, and Adesanya hopes his past rival’s career ends on the highest note possible.
After a pair of wins in the kickboxing world over
Adesanya, Pereira went on to defeat Adesanya for the middleweight title with a fifth-round knockout at UFC 281 in November 2022. Adesanya would win it back with a Knockout of the Year-candidate in their rematch five month later at UFC 299.
Adesanya just needed to prove something to himself, and speaking at Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA, “The Last Stylebender” reflected on what those battles meant to him.
“For me, it was never really about him, it was always about me,” Adesanya said. “I knew, technically, I’m the only one to hurt this man multiple times. I knew I could always touch him.
“I’m so proud of what he’s doing now — two-time light heavyweight champ now. He’s back on top now, about to fight [Jon] Jones at the White House. I hope he never loses [again].”
Following their MMA rematch, Pereira moved up to light heavyweight and accomplished the rare feat of becoming a two-division champion. Earlier this year, “Poatan” dropped the title to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313, but regained the title with a first-round knockout at UFC 320 in October.
Adesanya couldn’t be happier for his former foe, but admits it was incredibly meaningful to have his moment against Pereira.
“I hope he retires undefeated [moving forward] because I always knew it’s not about other people, it’s about me. Because after he beat me at Madison Square Garden, people were like, ‘Oh, he’ll never want to fight him again.‘ But I was like, ‘Yo, Dana, run that shit back. I need that.’
“And I always knew I could do it. So for this guy, it’s not about him, it’s about you. If you know you’re better than him, f*ck him. Prove it to yourself. Find a way to fight him again and prove it to yourself that you’re a better master at this game than him. That’s all it is.”
