"The guy that wins doesn't generally chase the other guy" - Chael Sonnen says it's "jealousy" that made Alex Pereira wait for Israel Adesanya fight in the UFC
Chael Sonnen has theorized a fresh angle to the narrative of the highly anticipated middleweight clash between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. Sonnen senses an underlying tinge of jealousy that made Pereira wait for Adesanya to fight in the UFC.
'Poatan' claimed in a recent interview with YouTube channel MMA Hoje that he kept tabs on every move of Adesanya before signing with the UFC. Fight fans are fully cognizant of the chronology of the rivalry between the two fighters. While 'The Last Stylebender' claims that he did not let the two defeats against Pereira dictate his approach for the upcoming fight, the Brazilian has an edge in their rivalry saga, being the only fighter to ever stop Adesanya.
The only man to stop Israel Adesanya is now in the UFC.
Alex Pereira knocked out the middleweight champ in the Stylebender's last kickboxing match.
Poatan makes his MMA debut at UFC 268 🔥 https://t.co/4qLis4dndm
Chael Sonnen perceives Pereira's pursuit of a fight with Adesanya despite having two victories as jealousy:
"The two-time winner is the one wanting a rematch and thinking about the opponent. That's interesting to me."
'The American Gangster' claimed that Israel Adesanya's success inside the UFC bothered Pereira in spite of self-belief that he's better than him:
"'I [Alex Pereira] was better. I had a better art. People didn't know me. I didn't make money. I didn't get a fight on pay-per-view. I didn't go become famous. I feel like I'm better, so I had to follow him over here and take what he's got.' Well you know, you've got my interest though. That's very compelling. The guy that wins doesn't generally chase the other guy. Now when you're talking about fame and money, you're talking about jealousy. You're talking about envy. That's powerful stuff.''
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira will meet again, this time inside the octagon, when they clash at UFC 281 at the prestigious Madison Square Garden on November 12.
Israel Adesanya is set to defend his middleweight title against Alex Pereira at #UFC281 in MSG 🗽 https://t.co/9bOC6AxT2A
Watch the video from 5:00 below:
Alex Pereira mocks Israel Adesanya for the 'Frozen' reference while discussing his fight with the Brazilian
Alex Pereira hilariously mocked Israel Adesanya for his past references to the movie Frozen while discussing their upcoming fight at UFC 281.
Following the fifth successful defense of his middleweight throne against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276, Adesanya called out 'Poatan' in the post-fight interview:
"We know who's next. That 'Poatan'... It was an error on my part, spamming right hands, and that was in kickboxing... Next time I put you on skates, you're gonna get frozen, like Elsa."
The build up to Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira starts now. Can't wait. twitter.com/btsportufc/sta…
Adesanya has penetrated pop culture as an anime fan with his immoderate fight entrances and art references. Pereira mocked Adesanya by claiming that he found the reference strange, almost like magic. In the video, 'Poatan' says in Brazilian Portuguese:
"Now the guy [Israel Adesanya] goes he will freeze me. Man, I'm gonna be scared. If he picks it up and starts to release magic, got it? Fireball, iceball, got it? Then I don't want to fight him. I'll say, 'This guy is not normal.'"
Watch the video below: