"He's lying through his teeth", "Behaviour sportsman demands" - Fans divided over Israel Adesanya hailing Alex Pereira as a "special human being"

Fans recently expressed their thoughts on Israel Adesanya praising Alex Pereira.

The UFC’s middleweight division has served as the arena for some of the promotion’s greatest-ever rivalries, and without a doubt, Adesanya vs. Pereira is among them.

The former UFC middleweight champions share a great deal of respect for one another despite their healthy and intense rivalry.

In a recent interview with Demetrious Johnson on his YouTube channel, Adesanya expressed his admiration for Pereira, saying (via MMA Fighting):

''Honestly, he’s a special fighter, he’s a special human being. What he’s done in this game, in fighting and for his life, as well, I’ll always respect him. I’m grateful for those moments because for me, it taught me so much about myself and where I can go.''

Check out Israel Adesanya's comments below:

Fans were left divided by Adesanya's remarks on Pereira and soon rushed to the comments section to share their reactions.

One fan wrote:

''The boy adesanya has now seen what a true champion is, hopefully we get a more humble adesanya next time we see in the UFC.''

Another fan wrote:

''So he finally swallowed his pride? Or is this just a small excerpt from another interview where he starts talking shit again 2 seconds later lmao''

Take a look at some other reactions below:

''That's the behaviour sportsman demands.''

''He's never respected Poatan, and he's lying through his teeth claiming to now.''

''Says he'll always respect him and then acts in a disrespectful way whenever he talks about him.. lol''

Check out some more reactions below:

Screenshot of Fan reactions to MMA Fighting's post on X

Adesanya eventually overcame Pereira at UFC 287 to reclaim the middleweight title and record his first victory in their four-bout series, following two kickboxing contests and one UFC title fight. Since then, Pereira has advanced to become the light heavyweight champion, while Adesanya lost the belt to Sean Strickland and took a self-imposed hiatus.

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When Israel Adesanya displayed incredible sportsmanship to Alex Pereira

In a tweet from last year, Israel Adesanya demonstrated his exceptional sportsmanship and camaraderie towards his long-time combat sports opponent, Alex Pereira.

'Izzy' tweeted a beautiful video of the two fighters hugging after their tough MMA rematch at UFC 287, where the Nigerian-born Kiwi won with a spectacular second-round knockout of the Brazilian opponent.

'The Last Stylebender' showed his gratitude and affection for Pereira by writing the following on social media:

"I love this game. Nothing compares, on this planet, in this life; than putting it all on the line. [You only get] one shot, [with] the whole world watching, waiting - then BOOM! History. Our individual legends will always be intertwined because of the stories we’ve told with our beautiful violence."

Check out Israel Adesanya's post below: