Israel Adesanya, the former UFC middleweight champion, has publicly acknowledged Alex Pereira’s success in winning a second UFC title. However, Pereira also added some humor to the situation during his post-fight interview.
At UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden in New York, Pereira secured the light heavyweight division championship by defeating Jiri Prochazka with vicious punches and elbows in the second round. Having won UFC titles in both the 185-pound and 205-pound divisions, Pereira used his post-fight interview to send a message to his rival, Adesanya.
Pereira referenced an old interview where Adesanya suggested that Pereira would be living off his kickboxing victories while he was no longer finding success in combat sports. He credited Adesanya’s words for motivating him to become a better fighter and encouraged Adesanya not to waste his talent by taking extended time away from the sport.
Pereira and Adesanya have fought four times across kickboxing and MMA, with each having a stoppage win in the UFC’s octagon. In their last fight at UFC 287, Adesanya violently knocked out Pereira in the second round.
Pereira’s callout to Adesanya during his post-fight interview has ignited a response from the former middleweight champion. Adesanya found humor in Pereira mentioning his name and hinted at the potential for a fifth fight between them.
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Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie.
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