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Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira have a storied history. The two former kickboxers have fought twice before, with Pereira emerging victorious on both occasions. While his first win was a unanimous decision victory after three rounds, his second victory was his biggest claim to fame - 'Poatan' became the first man to knock 'The Last Stylebender' out in their fight at Glory of Heroes 15.
Pereira now competes in the UFC's middleweight division, where Adesanya is the reigning king. Fans have been waiting for the Brazilian to climb up the ranks and earn his shot against his former foe. 'Poatan' is set to fight No.4-ranked Sean Strickland at UFC 276 on July 3, a card headlined by a middleweight title fight between Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier.
While Alex Pereira is currently unranked, some believe beating the No.4-ranked contender should earn him a shot at Israel Adesanya. However, Adesanya's coach Eugene Bareman doesn't agree with the same. In a recent interview with Submission Radio, he said:
"Would be nice for Strickland to win, because Strickland's body of work is good enough to fight for a title, whereas if Pereira wants it he's still gotta do more work, you know?"
When asked if Adesanya and the CKB team would like to avenge their loss to Pereira, Bareman clarified that they don't dwell on a loss suffered in a completely different sport and that losing is part of being a fighter.
Watch the interview below:
Israel Adesanya hoped to fight his former foe within Alex Pereira's first five UFC fights
'Poatan' made his promotional debut for Dana White's organization at UFC 268 on November 6, 2021. The Brazilian kickboxing phenom knocked his opponent Andreas Michailidis out with a disguised flying knee and follow-up punches just 18 seconds into the second round of their contest.
Adesanya posted a video of his reactions to the card on his YouTube channel FREESTYLEBENDER. In the same video, the middleweight titleholder can be seen addressing Pereira's victory, to which he says:
"Good job, Pereira. That was nice... I hope he does well. I hope he does well through the ranks. In the next four fights I hope to see him."
Watch the video below:
