Elizabeth O.
Alex Pereira Seeks Final Clash With Adesanya, Says He Still Holds Upper Hand
The Brazilian believes he still holds the upper hand over ‘The Last Stylebender’
Nigerian-born fighter Adesanya, who had an impressive 11-win streak in kickboxing, faced Alex Pereira for the first time at Glory of Heroes 1 in Shenzhen, China, on April 2, 2016. Pereira emerged victorious via unanimous decision. Adesanya had the opportunity to redeem himself in a rematch at Glory of Heroes 7 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on March 4, 2017.
However, ‘Poatan’ defeated Adesanya with a left hook knockout in the third round. The long-standing rivalry between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira was reignited in a professional MMA bout at UFC 281 on November 12, 2022, in New York. Unfortunately, Adesanya lost his middleweight title to Pereira in the fifth round via technical knockout.
However, Adesanya got his revenge when he faced Pereira again at UFC 287 on April 8, 2023. With a stunning knockout victory in the second round, ‘The Last Stylebender’ reclaimed his UFC middleweight championship title, marking a triumphant moment in his career.
As an act of retaliation, Adesanya mocked Pereira’s son and also posted a reaction video on his official YouTube channel, which has over 1.5m views.
In a recent Twitter post, the two-time UFC middleweight champion put out a photo of a knocked-out Pereira over an edited crime-scene backdrop, writing, “I love this game.”
The Brazilian responded by inviting him to another fight to show the world who is the true champion. He replied, “In kick-boxing it’s impossible now to be better than me. In MMA it’s 1:1. Be real with your fans and let’s show the world who is better in MMA.”
