Alex Pereira's mature backstage conduct after UFC 287 defeat shows Aljamain Sterling how to lose: “Now is our time to rethink”

Alex Pereira's mature backstage conduct following his middleweight title loss to longtime rival Israel Adesanya at UFC 287 has become inspirational for other fighters like Aljamain Sterling as it shows how to deal with a loss.

'FunkMaster's UFC record-setting bantamweight title reign came to an end this past weekend as Sean O'Malley defeated him via second-round TKO to become the new champion. Sterling responded to Alexander Volkanovski's comments regarding a potential fight should he have defeated O'Malley, but noted that he will use the loss to drive him.

He wrote:

"This all still feels like a bad, bad dream. Unfortunately, it’s not. This sport is really something…. I’m just gonna let it fuel me. I’ll be back."

@AFeldmanMMA commented on the tweet by sharing a clip of Alex Pereira following his loss to Adesanya. In the clip, 'Poatan' isn't too hard on himself and describes why leaving a fight with his health is more important, saying:

"How many times I left other families and teams sad and we were laughing? Now is our time to rethink, so dude I'm ok with it right now."

The former middleweight champion's demeanor following a knockout loss is a valuable lesson to UFC fighters like Aljamain Sterling, that they too can bounce back if they don't dwell on their loss.

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Israel Adesanya compliments Alex Pereira for being a tough opponent

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira have fought twice in the UFC and as many times in kickboxing.

A clip surfaced on Twitter showing the reigning middleweight champion praising 'Poatan' for his accomplishments and for being a tough opponent to deal with in the octagon.'The Last Stylebender' mentioned that he believes the middleweight contenders should be thanking him for ensuring they don't have to fight him, saying:

"If not for me, they'd [top middleweights] have to fight this guy. And then, they'll get f**ked up by him. These middleweights don't thank me enough. Trust me, he's a hard fight to get ready for."