Translated video reveals Alex Pereira’s emotional words to Israel Adesanya backstage after UFC 287 loss
This past weekend at UFC 287, Israel Adesanya recaptured the UFC middleweight title from Alex Pereira in one of the most dramatic fights of 2023 thus far.
The fight ended in violent fashion, as Israel Adesanya connected with a vicious four-punch combination that turned the lights out on Alex Pereira. It was the first knockout defeat of the Brazilian’s MMA career.
God damn that 1-2 was clean
https://t.co/xaUF17jxPW
If fans expected ‘Poatan’ to be salty about his defeat, though, a backstage video that has since emerged has proven them mightily wrong.
Initially, a clip of the two rivals sharing some words and a brief handshake and embrace was available. Now, the UFC has posted a further video revealing exactly what was said during the moment.
The clip captures Pereira telling Adesanya, “You’re a warrior. Tonight was your night.”
Adesanya follows that by suggesting he could head to Brazil to train with Pereira, who then refers to someone off-screen named Yousri, stating that he was once one of his rivals who he now considers a friend.
The ‘Yousri’ in question would appear to be Tunisian kickboxer Yousri Belgaroui, who fought Pereira three times in the ring, defeating him once but losing to him twice.
Later, after receiving some praise from ‘The Last Stylebender’, who calls him “a great champion,” ‘Poatan’ tells his rival, “You took this one, not this one” before embracing him.
Check out the video below:
#UFC287Respect forged in the Octagon! 👏 #UFC287 https://t.co/n5nOTME5bp
It’s hard to fully understand exactly what Pereira is referring to with this line. Based on the fact that he appears to point at Adesanya’s title belt and then his upper left chest. A good guess might be that he’s suggesting ‘The Last Stylebender’ took his title but not his heart as a fighter.
Either way, this clip is further proof that while the UFC’s top stars often embark on bitter rivalries inside the octagon, they carry plenty of respect for one another outside of competition.
Whether Adesanya and Pereira will ever become sparring partners, of course, remains to be seen.
Will Alex Pereira rematch Israel Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title?
While Israel Adesanya’s win over Alex Pereira this weekend means that they are now 1-1 in the UFC, thanks to Pereira’s two wins over ‘The Last Stylebender’ in kickboxing, he remains 3-1 against him overall.
Given the backstory between these two great strikers, the logical move from the UFC could usually be to book a trilogy fight between them in the octagon, with the title on the line again.
Judging by Dana White’s recent comments, though, that doesn’t seem all that likely.
The UFC president was asked about the possibility of a rematch at the weekend’s post-fight press conference, but he shot it down quite quickly. Instead, he suggested something different for ‘Poatan’.
“I think that Pereira probably moves to 205 after this fight. He’s a monster.”
"I think Pereira probably moves to 205": Dana White doesn't see an MMA trilogy between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya being next.
Full video: bit.ly/287Presser https://t.co/86cvQJ2Q0V
Based on this, it’s unlikely that we’ll see Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira 3 – or 5, if you count kickboxing – in the near future.