Winning against Israel Adesanya will be 'impossible' for Dricus Du Plessis, says Alex Pereira
Israel Adesanya reclaimed the middleweight title at UFC 287 with a stunning KO victory over Alex Pereira.
'The Last Stylebender' refrained from calling out anyone following his bout, but did express his desire to fight a "certain" middleweight in South Africa. Adesanya's dominance over the middleweight division has resulted in a lack of new contenders, as he has beaten every fighter ranked in the top five of the division at least once.
To determine the his next opponent, the UFC announced a bout between Dricus du Plessis and Robert Whittaker, set to take place at UFC 290.
Alex Pereira recently shared his thoughts on the matchup, as well as what a victory for Du Plessis would mean. 'Poatan' stated that it would be "impossible" for the South African to defeat Israel Adesanya, and said this:
"[Du Plessis] is a fighter who at the end of the first round was very tired. So how will a guy like that fight [for] five rounds against [Whittaker]. If he wins, it would be Adesanya [next]. I think [it's] impossible... Let's talk about it Du Plessis wins [against Whittaker]. I think it will be a massacre. Adesanya knows it. He wants to make history. He wants to make an easy fight..."
Watch the video below from 0:35:
Israel Adesanya replied to Du Plessis' post last month to win his bout aagainst Whittaker, which would help the bout between the two come to fruition.
"Please win."
See the tweet below:
Please win. twitter.com/dricusduplessi…
Alex Pereira shares interest in a third UFC fight with Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya has been on a victory lap of epic proportions following his monumental victory over Alex Pereira at UFC 287 in April. 'The Last Stylebender' has openly admitted to taking advantage of the current social media trends, and it appears that 'Poatan' has been irked by his rival's posts online.
Pereira announced that he would be moving to light heavyweight several days after his loss to Adesanya. But the Brazilian stated that he would be "keeping an eye" on the middleweight's behaviour.
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira shared an exchange on Twitter several days ago that would appear to indicate that a third UFC bout could take place in the future. 'Poatan' even called out UFC president Dana White on Twitter.
'The Last Stylebender' recently posted this online:
"I love this game"
See the tweet below:
I love this game. 🥶 https://t.co/o9lM1KYPav
Alex Pereira replied with the following:
"In kick-boxing it’s impossible now to be better than me. In MMA it’s 1:1. Be real with your fans and let’s show the world who is better in MMA"
See the tweet below:
@stylebender In kick-boxing it’s impossible now to be better than me. In MMA it’s 1:1. Be real with your fans and let’s show the world who is better in MMA.
'Poatan' then took to Twitter yesterday and said this:
"Seems like @stylebender is promoting a third fight. I like this idea. Let’s go @ufc @danawhite"
See the tweet below:
Seems like @stylebender is promoting a third fight. I like this idea. Let’s go @ufc @danawhite