It’s amazing how this guy knows me… It’s like we’ve spent hours studying each other’s moves and fought each other countless times. I really do. 🫡 https://t.co/Up7U8DyT2Q
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender)
August 25, 2024
Israel Adesanya claims that Alex Pereira knows him well, which is no surprise given how many times they’ve traded balls together during their illustrious careers.
Adesanya attempted to regain his middleweight title against Dorricus du Plessis in the main event of UFC 305 on August 17 in Perth, Australia. The two fighters engaged in a fierce battle that showed both Adesanya’s best form and du Plessis’s usual awkward fighting style, with the South African ultimately defeating Adesanya by submission in the fourth round to retain his title.
Adesanya’s former rival, Pereira, was keeping a close eye on the bout and even mentioned the possibility of returning to middleweight to challenge “Stilnox” after the bout. Pereira also noticed Adesanya’s signature leg kick was missing, speculating that this may have caused the injury to “The Last Stylebender.” “Poitan” admitted that the kick bothered him when he fought Adesanya and believes that it would have affected du Plessis as well. According to the Brazilian, du Plessis’ lack of a leg kick made his job easier.
“Obviously, I don’t know how Adesanya was,” Pereira said on his YouTube channel. “When we’re there, we don’t talk about injuries or problems. We’re there. We want to fight, we want to win. We don’t make excuses. Maybe Adesanya was injured. You could see he barely kicked. That inside kick from Adesanya is very good. Not everyone can do it, but he can do it very well. It was a good weapon, but he didn’t continue with that inside kick. Even Dorricus said it bothers me, and it bothers me too. I said it before for those who asked me. He didn’t continue with it. I think when he’s just throwing punches, it’s easier for the opponent to defend himself or get out. It was like boxing there. So it was easier for Adesanya to throw punches.” [Du Plessis].”
Adesanya responded to Pereira’s analysis, suggesting it may be accurate.
“It’s crazy that this guy knows me…it’s like we’ve spent hours studying each other’s moves and fought each other so many times. I honestly do,” Adesanya wrote on X.
Adesanya and Pereira faced off twice in Glory Kickboxing prior to their UFC days, with “Poitan” winning both bouts, one by knockout. Pereira turned to MMA and joined the UFC much later than Adesanya, dethroning “The Last Stylebender” again by knockout in their first encounter inside the Octagon. Adesanya got his revenge with a second-round knockout in their UFC middleweight title rematch at UFC 287 in April 2023, while Pereira moved up to light heavyweight to win the title there.
