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As it turns out, winning his second UFC title is not enough for Alex Pereira. Just 11 fights into his professional MMA career, ‘Poatan’ has won the UFC middleweight and light heavyweight titles via knockouts. This achievement gives him a unique status of two-division champion in two different sports.
However, the Brazilian is not done with his archrival in kickboxing as well as MMA - Israel Adesanya.
Alex Pereira is 3-1 against Israel Adesanya in kickboxing and MMA combined. ‘The Last Stylebender’ had the final laugh when he avenged his UFC 281 loss against ‘Poatan’ and emerged victorious via a vicious knockout at UFC 287.
Pereira, who moved up to light heavyweight after the loss, captured the 205-pound crown at UFC 295 with a knockout win over former champion Jiri Prochazka.
During the post-fight interview, Alex Pereira reignited his rivalry with Israel Adesanya and said:
“I know I’m not gonna do what he did to me. He made me fight three times to fight him in the middleweight division. I know a guy that has history with me. So I’m going to make this fight happen. Hey, Adesanya! Come to daddy!”
Watch the full octagon interview below:
Adesanya has been on an extended break from competition since losing the UFC middleweight title to Sean Strickland at the UFC 293 event that took place in September 2023. However, he was quick to respond to Pereira’s call-out and wrote on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter):
“Let it gooooo”
The post was accompanied by the image of Pereira after he was knocked out at UFC 287. The caption of the image read:
“Lol rent free… I sleep good”
See the post below:
Dana White favors Jamahal Hill over Israel Adesanya as Alex Pereira’s next opponent
UFC CEO Dana White usually refuses to make fights immediately after the events conclude. However, he is certain that Alex Pereira vs Israel Adesanya will not materialize before former 205-pound champion Jamahal Hill gets his shot at the title.
While speaking at the UFC 295 post-fight press conference about Pereira’s call-out, Dana White said:
“Israel is a weight class below him now! But we’ve seen that. Yeah, Jamahall Hill when he is ready is the fight that makes sense…”
Watch the full UFC 295 post-fight press conference below:
