Alex Pereira reacts to Jamahal Hill picking Israel Adesanya's brain for UFC 300 - "I'm glad they did it over video"
Alex Pereira has addressed the recent Jamahal Hill-Israel Adesanya video call and seemingly jibed at Hill.
Pereira has fought 'The Last Stylebender' four times in the professional combat sports dominion. Their kickboxing bouts witnessed 'Poatan' beating Adesanya via unanimous decision in 2016 and a third-round KO in 2017. Additionally, they're 1-1 against each other in MMA. Both their MMA clashes against one another transpired inside the UFC's famed octagon.
'Poatan' defeated the Nigeria-born New Zealand athlete by fifth-round TKO to capture the UFC middleweight title in Nov. 2022. However, 'The Last Stylebender' avenged that loss by beating Pereira via second-round KO and reclaiming the middleweight title in April 2023. Adesanya dropped the title via unanimous decision to Sean Strickland in Sept. 2023 and hasn't fought since.
Meanwhile, 'Poatan' moved up to light heavyweight, defeating Jan Blachowicz by split decision in July 2023. The 36-year-old then beat Jiri Prochazka via second-round TKO to win the vacant UFC light heavyweight title in Nov. 2023.
Pereira's scheduled to defend the UFC light heavyweight title against former light heavyweight titlist Jamahal Hill in the headlining matchup of UFC 300 (April 13, 2024).
Late last month (March 2024), Hill revealed that he partook in a video call with Adesanya and labeled the latter as one of the greatest minds in MMA history. Besides, the American fighter, who had to vacate his title due to injury in July 2023, notably referred to Pereira as a placeholder champion.
As reported by the UFC's official website, Alex Pereira has now responded to Hill's seeking advice from Adesanya. Insinuating that both he and Adesanya are superior fighters as compared to Hill, Pereira stated:
"Talking is a strategy a lot of times, and that's what he's doing ... I've been able to pick up on what his game plan will be from what he's been saying. I could be wrong, but this is what I have been reading into what he's been saying. I'm not worried about it."
He added:
"I saw he was doing a video call with Adesanya ... Honestly, it needed to be on video because if he goes over there to train with Adesanya, Adesanya is gonna kick his a**, break his leg, and he's not gonna be able to fight, so I'm glad they did it over video."
Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill: 'Poatan' eyes quick turnaround after UFC 300
Heading into the highly-anticipated UFC 300 event, Alex Pereira has consistently asserted his confidence about emerging victorious in his 205-pound title showdown against Jamahal Hill, Furthermore, 'Poatan' has highlighted, on more than one occasion, that he'd like to make a quick turnaround after the centenary event.
In a recent video posted to Alex Pereira's YouTube channel, he acknowledged that anything can happen in a fight. Regardless, he opined that if he wins and doesn't sustain significant damage at UFC 300, he'd be open to defending his UFC light heavyweight championship at the UFC 301 (May 4, 2024) event in his native Brazil.