Alex Pereira leaves a cryptic message under Israel Adesanya's tweet promising to continue his middleweight reign
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira are set to fight for the middleweight title at UFC 281. The two fighters will extend their rivalry to the confines of the octagon for the first time.
As announced on @SportsCenter, we have a π΄π¨πΊπΊπ°π½π¬ main event set for MSG π
@Stylebender vs Alex Pereira is confirmed for #UFC281!
[ Tickets on sale Friday August 26th π ] https://t.co/vY5wNDS1OX
In the buildup towards the fight, the UFC posted on Twitter celebrating Adesanya's reign as the middleweight champion. 'Izzy' has not lost a single middleweight bout in his MMA career and has five successful title defenses under his belt.
'The Last Stylebender' signaled his intentions to remain champion even after UFC 281. The Nigerian-born New Zealander quoted the post with the caption:
"Still here, not going anywhere!! [crown emoji]"
Check out his tweet below:
twitter.com/ufc/status/156β¦
Still here, not going anywhere!! π twitter.com/ufc/status/156β¦
Adesanya's upcoming opponent, Alex Pereira, replied to the tweet with an emoji of a pair of eyes. The Brazilian's cryptic response may read along the lines of 'let's see about that'. He does hold a pair of wins over the current 185lbs titleholder, albeit in the kickboxing ring.
Check out the reply from 'Poatan':
@stylebender π
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira continue their war of words on social media
This was not the first social media exchange between the two after their UFC 281 fight announcement. Earlier, Israel Adesanya sounded off a warning to Alex Pereira on Instagram, captioning his post:
"ππ #UFC281 "Vengeance is mine says the lord.β Brooooo I said the same thing too!! This ends here. Kill or be killed βοΈ"
Check out the post below:
Adesanya promised revenge for the only knockout he has suffered in his combat sports career. He faced 'Poatan' twice during his kickboxing days and fell both times to the Brazilian.
'The Last Stylebender' will hope to fare much better on his preferred canvas of the octagon. Pereira also took to Instagram to respond to Adesanya's remarks and wrote:
"Revenge is never full, it kills the soul and poisons." [Translated from Portuguese by Google]
Check out Pereira's Instagram post below:
Israel Adesanya will look to edge out Alex Pereira inside the octagon in November. To achieve that, he may have to overcome the mental advantage that his opponent holds of defeating him twice. Come UFC 281, 'Poatan' will look to break the dominance of 'The Last Stylebender'.