"He's literally sat in a bar saying 'I beat that guy one time'" - Fans react to Israel Adesanya discussing legendary Alex Pereira rivalry

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira share one of the greatest rivalries in recent combat sports history. 'The Last Stylebender' recently weighed in on their long-time rivalry while speaking to Demetrious Johnson on his podcast, MightyCast. He said:

"First fight in China, I thought I won. Even he thought I won until he got his hand raised. Second fight, I'm beating his a** and he gets me. Again in New York, beating that, rocked him, took him down, held him down, beat him, and he gets me... I was waiting for him to throw the knee so I can grab, but then same ref - shoutout Marc Goddard - let Jamahal Hill almost kill Glover [Teixeira] and Kelvin Gastelum against me in the fifth round, how many knockdowns - so I'm like, 'I was fine'."

He continued:

"Then for me, I just knew I can beat this guy. It wasn't about proving it to anyone else. It was about myself. I know I can beat this guy so that last - that Miami one - I was in a different place. I had to tap into some darkness for that camp. People who knew me, I was different. I was like, 'it's no way this motherf**ker beats me four times'. It's about the story. I beat him once - how ironic - but then if I fight him again and I knock him out, what are they going to say? 'It's 3-2, best out of seven'."

Check out Israel Adesanya's comments on his rivalry with Alex Pereira below:

Many fans reacted to Adesanya discussing the rivalry. @oocmma said he is doing what he claimed Pereira would:

"I’m crying he’s literally sat in a bar saying “i beat that guy one time” 😭"

@Trill__22 questioned how the two-time middleweight champion discusses the bouts:

"I don’t know why he talks about it like this, a fight ain’t over til it’s over"

@Zach_Spring3r believes all fighters fail to properly acknowledge their losses:

"Every fighter these days can’t just say the better man won, it’s always a “bad” stoppage or some injury excuse that we never would have heard about with a win."

Check out the best fan reactions to Israel Adesanya's comments below:

Fan reactions

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Robert Whittaker weighs in on Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis

Israel Adesanya is reportedly nearing his return, with rumors suggesting that he will challenge Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight title at UFC 305 in August.

Robert Whittaker, who has faced both fighters, weighed in on the matchup on his podcast, MMArcade, stating:

"It's an interesting fight. I can see Adesanya just piecing him up for five rounds. But in saying that, Dricus is tough as nails, and he's awkward. I can also see Dricus just getting in there and making it awkward, and, I don't know, taking him out of his rhythm because we saw when Adesanya fought Strickland - Strickland pushing that pace and moving into his space changed the rhythm of the fight. Adesanya didn't adapt to that very well."

Check out Robert Whittaker's comments on Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya below (starting at the 13:32 mark):

Adesanya defeated Whittaker at UFC 243, capturing the middleweight title via second-round knockout. The pair rematched at UFC 271, with the middleweight title on the line, and 'The Last Stylebender' once again emerged victorious, this time via unanimous decision. Du Plessis was also able to defeat 'The Reaper', winning their UFC 290 bout via second-round TKO.