Israel Adesanya extended his best wishes to former rival Alex Pereira while commenting on the intense rivalry the two shared over the years.
Adesanya and Pereira have fought each other twice in kickboxing, with ‘Poatan’ winning both matches. In the UFC, Pereira and Adesanya linked up in 2022, and the Brazilian secured a round five TKO finish to dethrone Adesanya and win the UFC Middleweight Championship.
However, ‘The Last Stylebender’ was determined to turn it around, and in the title rematch, he wasted no time regaining his lost glory with a round 2 KO of ‘Poatan.’
After the title loss, Pereira moved up to light heavyweight, where he is the current and two-time champion. The 38-year-old now wants to move up the ranks and fight for a third UFC title.
Israel Adesanya, on the other hand, lost his title to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 and failed to capture it against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305 in 2024. In 2025, he suffered a TKO loss in a non-title fight against Nassourdine Imavov. The Nigerian-born Kiwi now has no desire to regain the title and wants to fight freely and try some ‘risky sh*t’.
Israel Adesanya praises Alex Pereira
‘The Last Stylebender’ and Alex Pereira’s beef has been squashed, and they have been seen hanging out together in the past. The two have also expressed interest in training together. In a recent interview with Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA, while reflecting on the competitive rivalry that Israel Adesanya shared with Pereira, the former said:
“I hope he never loses. For me it was never really about him.” [Pereira]it was always about me. I technically knew that I am the only one who hurt this man multiple times. I’m so proud of what he’s doing now, two-time light heavyweight champion, he’s back at the top now. I hope he never loses. I hope he retires undefeated. It’s not about other people, it was about me, because after he beat me at MSG, people were like, oh, he’ll never fight him again, but it was like, Dana, run that shit back.
Check out Israel Adesanya’s comments below:
#Israel #Adesanya #reflects #rivalry #Alex #Pereira #shows #ultimate #respect