Israel Adesanya reacts to Alex Pereira's injury suggestion about Dricus du Plessis fight at UFC 305: "It’s weird how this guy knows me"
Israel Adesanya suffered a loss by fourth-round submission to Dricus du Plessis in the main event of UFC 305 last weekend. 'The Last Stylebender' recently reacted to his long-time rival Alex Pereira suggesting that he was fighting injured during the middleweight title bout.
Speaking on his YouTube channel earlier in the week, 'Poatan' stated:
"Of course, I don't know how Adesanya was. When we are there, we don't talk about injuries, don't talk about problems. We are there, we want to fight, want to win. No excuses. Maybe Adesanya had a injury, I don't know. You could see he kicked very little. Things I saw that inside kick of Adesanya is very good. Not everyone can do that, but he can do it very well. It was a good weapon and he didn't continue doing that inside kick."
Pereira noted that Adesanya's inside leg kick bothered both him and du Plessis. He added that it becomes easier for 'The Last Stylebender's' opponents to defend against him when he is only throwing hands. The two-time middleweight champion responded to the comments on X, stating:
"It’s weird how this guy knows me…it’s like we’ve spent hours studying eachother’s moves and fought multiple times or sumn’. I mean that. 🫡"
Check out Israel Adesanya's response to Alex Pereira below:
Adesanya and Pereira have clashed four times in their combat sports career, facing one another twice in kickboxing and twice in mixed martial arts. While the former has not used any injury as an excuse, he seemingly confirmed that he was not fully healthy during his recent title bout.
Israel Adesanya unclear on when he will return to action
Israel Adesanya took the longest break of his combat sports career ahead of UFC 305. He recently revealed that he feels physically prepared to fight already, however, he is unsure when he will return to the octagon. Speaking on his YouTube channel, the two-time middleweight champion stated:
"Like I said, enjoy me while I'm here. Enjoy me while I fight. I started to watch the fight and literally, I was like, f**k, I could go again. I was like, f**k, I could go again. I still feel good. I'm like, literally, bro, I could fight this weekend. Don't have to even make weight, I could fight this weekend, but I'm like, 'Hmm, eh, we'll see.' I just want to get back to the gym, get training again and then we'll reset, re-group and yeah, we'll see."
Check out Israel Adesanya's comments on his return to the octagon below:
Adesanya will likely compete outside of a title bout for the first time in over five years when he returns to the octagon. He has fought in 12 consecutive title bouts over that span.