“Pereira is a special human being" - Alex Pereira’s former rival full of praise ahead of his UFC 295 showdown against Jiri Prochazka

Alex Pereira's former adversary, Israel Adesanya, was full of praise for the Brazilian ahead of his UFC 295 bout versus Jiri Prochazka.

Pereira and Prochazka have been bumped to the main-event slot, following the cancellation of the bout between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. They will face off for the vacant light heavyweight title in New York at Madison Square Garden.

'Poatan' heads into the fight off the back of a successful debut in the division, narrowly defeating former champ Jan Blachowicz via split-decision. Prior to his move up to 205lbs, the Brazilian defeated Adesanya for the middleweight title, before dropping it back to him in their rematch.

For 'BJP,' this weekend's clash marks a first return to action since suffering a horrific shoulder injury last November. He was the champion at the time and opted to vacate the belt, which he had won after defeating Glover Texieira in their 2022 clash which went down in the history books as the fight of the year.

Ahead of their title clash this weekend, Israel Adesanya has weighed in on Alex Pereira's chances against Jiri Prochazka. In a suprising turn of events, the former rival was complimentary of the Brazilian by admitted he is a "special" fighter.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, 'the Last Stylebender' said:

"I'll say, Pereira is a special human being, not just a fighter, a special human being. I'll say that because I've been in there with him many times. He's got a special ability of putting people to sleep, he can do it to anyone."

Catch Adesanya's comments here (12:30):

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Alex Pereira weighs in on Dillon Danis potentially signing with the UFC

During UFC 295's media day, Alex Pereira was asked his thoughts on Dillon Danis potentially signing a UFC contract.

The Brazilian and Danis have become friends in recent months, with the two often pictured together whilst training. 'El Jefe' has also recently declared his interest in signing with the MMA promotion, following his stint in influencer boxing and his release from Bellator.

Danis has also even proposed British MMA star Paddy Pimblett as a first opponent.

Speaking to the media, 'Poatan' praised Danis' talents in the octagon and admitted he'd like to see him compete in the UFC's octagon. He said:

"I could see that he is a very talented kid. We had two [training] sessions. He's a great guy and the fact that he's actually in negotiation with the UFC or trying to get in, I think it's awesome and I'm very pumped for him. I'll root for him."

Catch Pereira's comments here: