"It was his dream to win against me" - Alex Pereira shares honest opinion about potential trilogy fight with Israel Adesanya
Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya is a legendary rivalry that has spanned numerous years now. Pereira currently holds the lead, as he is 3-1 over Adesanya in combat sports.
In MMA, however, the two are tied with one win apiece. Pereira dethroned Adesanya at UFC 281 with a fifth-round come-from-behind TKO win. 'The Last Stylebender' got his revenge in the rematch, as he scored one of the most iconic knockouts in UFC history at UFC 295 to reclaim the middleweight title from 'Poatan.'
After Pereira recently became the champion at light heavyweight after defeating Jiri Prochazka for the vacant belt at UFC 295 in November, 'Poatan' called out Adesanya, offering him a chance to fight for the 205-pound strap.
Adesanya previously tried to move up to 205 pounds but fell short against then-champion Jan Blachowicz. As a result, Pereira's callout may have been enticing. 'The Last Stylebender,' however, announced that he would be taking a break from MMA after his defeat to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. Thus, it's unclear if he will answer 'Poatan's challenge.
For his part, it doesn't look like Pereira is going to sit around and wait for Adesanya. He acknowledged Adesanya's victory over him.
"I doubt if he really wants to fight me because talking serious, he won once against me,” Pereira said. “It was his dream to win against me. He did it. So now getting into this cage again with me, he knows everything can happen, and he can lose again." [h/t MMA Junkie]
'Poatan' added that if Adesanya didn't accept the fight, it didn't matter to him and that he would face whoever is next in line.
Alex Pereira slams Khamzat Chimaev, may be hinting at a potential fight
There is no love lost between Khamzat Chimaev and Alex Pereira, as the two have had a lot to say about each other in the past. While a fight between the two is unlikely to happen anytime soon, it definitely is a possibility as Chimaev gets further into his career.
Recently, 'Poatan' took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a clip from a famous film in which a man chooses an opponent from many others. He did so and hilariously added:
"When Chimaev is choosing his opponents."
Check out the tweet here: