Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya have a long history. The two fought twice in kickboxing and twice in the UFC. Through those four matches, Pereira is 3-1 against “The Last Stylebender,” but doesn’t hold anything personal against Adesanya.
In their first kickboxing match, Pereira defeated Adesanya by decision. The decision was controversial, according to Adesanya and Daniel Cormier, and the decision warranted a rematch. In the rematch, Pereira knocked out Adesanya.
In the UFC, Pereira won the middleweight championship by defeating Adesanya at UFC 281 in November 2022 by TKO. Adesanya avenged the loss in the rematch at UFC 287 in April and knocked out Pereira.
It was Adesanya’s success in the UFC that lured Pereira to transition into mixed martial arts. After hearing an Adesanya interview, “Poatan” decided to start training MMA. In an Instagram post, Pereira said that he’d even train with Adesanya in the future.
“This is not personal with Israel Adesanya, I would even train with him in the future, but Adesanya gotta watch this video so he will never underestimate someone’s potential again! P S: Poatan – “2 Division Champion,” wrote Pereira.
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After losing to Adesanya in the rematch, he moved up to the light heavyweight division. He became the light heavyweight champion by finishing former champion Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295.
It’s unclear if Adesanya has seen the post, or if he’d be willing to train with Pereira. Adesanya is taking an extended break from fighting after losing to Sean Strickland at UFC 293.
https://www.mmaweekly.com/news/alex-pereira-willing-to-train-with-israel-adesanya-this-is-not-personal