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The UFC’s middleweight division has been the stage for some of the promotion’s greatest-ever rivalries, and there’s no doubt that Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira is amongst them.
While Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira clearly have a lot of respect for one another, the former middleweight champions have definitely built a healthy and heated rivalry, too.
So with two fights inside the UFC’s octagon and two prior to their arrival there, there have been plenty of memorable moments produced by ‘The Last Stylebender’ and ‘Poatan’.
Here are the five best moments from the Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira rivalry.
#5. Alex Pereira edges out Israel Adesanya at GLORY of Heroes 1
As many fans are aware, Israel Adesanya’s rivalry with Alex Pereira dates back to their time as kickboxers under the GLORY banner. Famously, the two rivals had two bouts inside the ring, but while most fans know all about the second, the first is a little more interesting to look back on.
The fight took place over five rounds, and despite Adesanya largely outlanding ‘Poatan’ in terms of volume, the Brazilian’s combinations and bigger shots seemed to do more damage.
In the end, Pereira was handed a unanimous decision win, giving him the first victory in what would eventually become an epic rivalry.
Adesanya remains adamant that he didn’t actually lose the fight, though, and spoke on it as recently as 2022.
In the media day press conference prior to ‘The Last Stylebender’ taking on Jared Cannonier at UFC 276, Adesanya brought up the bout. He asked the journalists in attendance outright who had actually watched the fight, and then claimed he’d “f*cked Pereira up” in the fight.
Either way, the fight was undoubtedly a tricky one to call, even if ‘Poatan’ came away with his hand raised.
#4. Alex Pereira becomes the first man to KO Israel Adesanya
If Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira’s first fight in the GLORY ring was a difficult one to call, the same could certainly not be said for their second meeting.
Taking place just under a year later in Pereira’s home country of Brazil, the bout had about as climactic an ending as possible.
Given the success he’d had with his volume and combinations in their first fight, ‘The Last Stylebender’ seemed confident in the early going of the rematch. He backed ‘Poatan’ up in the first two rounds, and appeared to be well on his way to a win.
However, he clearly hadn’t banked on the insane punching power of the Brazilian. As the two men exchanged in the third round, Pereira caught Adesanya cleanly with a counter left hook – and knocked him senseless.
It was a remarkable finish, made more remarkable by the fact that it was not only the first time ‘The Last Stylebender’ had ever been knocked out, but by the fact that nobody else could repeat it for over five years.
The fight proved to be the last time Adesanya would step into the kickboxing ring, as he moved to the UFC less than a year later and quickly found huge success.
#3. Alex Pereira stops Israel Adesanya at UFC 281
Israel Adesanya arrived in the UFC in February 2018, and it didn’t take him long to make an impact.
After reeling off a series of impressive wins – and capturing the interest of the fans with his natural charisma – ‘The Last Stylebender’ surprised most observers by defeating Robert Whittaker for the middleweight title less than two years later.
Adesanya would follow this with five successful title defenses, and essentially, it appeared that at 185lbs, he was untouchable.
However, late 2021 saw his old rival Alex Pereira arrive in the promotion, and it didn’t take long for the UFC to begin to build up a fight in the octagon between the two.
After just three wins, with only one coming over a ranked opponent, ‘Poatan’ was quickly pushed into a title bout with Adesanya in November 2022.
Despite his clear striking talents, many fans simply couldn’t come to terms with the idea that Pereira could once again get the better of ‘The Last Stylebender’, particularly not inside the octagon.
However, when they faced off at UFC 281, history would, remarkably, repeat itself.
Just like their second kickboxing match, Adesanya appeared to be on his way to a win, even stunning the Brazilian at the tail end of the first round.
Pereira managed to survive, though, and when the fight reached the fifth round, he clearly knew he needed a stoppage to win. Incredibly, he turned up the heat by backing Adesanya up towards the fence, and about a minute into the round, he landed the big shot he was looking for.
Stunning ‘The Last Stylebender’ with his deadly left hook, Pereira unloaded with huge combinations until Adesanya couldn’t defend anymore, forcing the referee to step in.
The result was one of the bigger upsets in the octagon in recent memory, but in many ways, it was also predictable. In the eyes of a lot of people, Pereira simply had the edge over his rival.
#2. Israel Adesanya finally gains revenge on Alex Pereira at UFC 287
When Alex Pereira became the first man to defeat Israel Adesanya in the octagon at 185lbs, taking his middleweight title from him in the process, a rematch between the two was inevitable.
It didn’t matter that Adesanya was in fact 0-3 against ‘Poatan’ overall. Given his legendary status and popularity in the UFC, it was the logical move to make.
Just five months after he’d been knocked out by him, then, ‘The Last Stylebender’ fronted up at UFC 287 to face Pereira in an attempt to reclaim his title.
Unlike in their previous fight, most observers seemed to be picking the Brazilian this time around. After all, he’d proven to be Adesanya’s kryptonite on three separate occasions before.
Remarkably, though, ‘The Last Stylebender’ pulled off arguably the most satisfying victory of his career by gaining his revenge in the second round.
After a largely uneventful opening stanza, Pereira appeared to be the aggressor in the second and hunted Adesanya down with a nasty series of body shots.
However, as ‘The Last Stylebender’ backed up, he caught Pereira coming in with a savage three-punch combination that sent him crashing down. One extra shot followed up, and the fight was declared over.
Unsurprisingly, Adesanya’s celebration was a raucous one and even saw him taunt Pereira’s son at cageside. Usually, it would be taken as a mark of disrespect, but in this instance, it was hard to blame ‘The Last Stylebender’ for going too far. After all, he’d finally vanquished the greatest rival of his career in the most dramatic fashion.
#1. Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira bury the hatchet after UFC 287
It sounds bizarre to label an incident that didn’t take place in the ring or octagon as the greatest moment in the Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira rivalry.
However, the fact is that despite the way that promotions like the UFC build fights up by leaning heavily on feuds and bad blood, MMA has always, at its core, been a sport based largely around mutual respect.
That’s why it was so cool to see ‘The Last Stylebender’ and ‘Poatan’ bury the hatchet after their clash at UFC 287 earlier this year.
Meeting backstage following their battle, which was won by Adesanya via KO, there appeared to be nothing but mutual respect between the two rivals.
The two men could be seen exchanging warm words, with reports confirming that Adesanya had labeled Pereira a “true champion” and even suggested he’d like to visit Brazil to train with him.
Another video was then released that showed the conversation further and revealed Pereira had told Adesanya “You’re a warrior, tonight was your night”.
Despite rumors of a fifth fight between the two, Pereira has since moved up to 205lbs, quietening the talk for now at least. Whether they do meet in the octagon – or the ring – again in the future remains to be seen, but it’s definitely fair to call their rivalry one of the most storied in UFC history.
