"Respect to Izzy" - Fans react to Israel Adesanya's response after young fan approaches 'The Last Stylebender' and says Alex Pereira "sucks"

MMA fans recently appreciated Israel Adesanya's respectful gesture toward his arch-rival, Alex Pereira.

The Pereira vs. Adesanya rivalry began long before their UFC entries. The first two chapters saw 'The Last Stylebender' locking horns with 'Poatan' inside the kickboxing ring, with Pereira winning both times.

Pereira's entry into the UFC stretched their rivalry from the kickboxing ring to the octagon. The Brazilian clashed with Adesanya for the first time at UFC 281 and earned a TKO victory once more, boosting the score to 3-0. However, Adesanya finally tasted success when he KO-ed Pereira at UFC 287 to regain the middleweight title.

A recent X post from @ChampRDS showcased Adesanya showing Pereira respect. In the clip, one of his young fans comes up to him and mentions, "Alex Pereira sucks." 'The Last Stylebender' responds with:

"Nah, he’s [Pereira] all good. He's really good. Show him his respect he’s really good. I beat him already, so you could be a fan."

Several MMA fans lauded how Adesanya taught the young fan about being respectful toward rivals. One comment read:

"Respect to Izzy"

Others concurred:

"Actually a class act here by Izzy. Respect"

"Adesanya is a good guy 🙏"

"Good to see Izzy being real about it"

Check out a few other reactions below:

Fan reactions [Screenshot courtesy: @ChampRDS on X]

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Alex Pereira will not be headlining UFC 310

One of Alex Pereira's recent gestures sparked a massive discussion in the MMA community about his return to the octagon to headline UFC 310. However, a report from MMA Fighting revealed that 'Poatan' will not make another quick turnaround to headline UFC 310.

Recently, Belal Muhammad announced his withdrawal from the original UFC 310 headliner due to a bone infection. Pereira commented with a telephone emoji on one of the Instagram posts reporting this news.

The post led fans to wonder if 'Poatan' had been contacted by the UFC to fill in as the December pay-per-view's headliner. That possibility has now been ruled out, and the MMA community is eagerly waiting for an official announcement about the main event.