Israel Adesanya ‘grateful’ for rivalry with Alex Pereira
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya cleared out the middleweight division until an old rival, Alex Pereira, showed up in the fight promotion.
Heading into their UFC 281 title bout, Pereira had beaten Adesanya twice in kickboxing, once by decision and once by knockout. In dramatic fashion, Pereira came from behind in the final round to finish Adesanya and capture the 185-pound championship.
The two rematched at UFC 287 earlier this month and Adesanya got his revenge, scoring a first-round knockout over the Brazilian. On Wednesday, ‘The Last Stylebender’ penned a message to ‘Poatan’ on social media saying that he was ‘grateful’ for their rivalry and that Pereira made him better.
“I love this game. Nothing compares on this planet, in this life than putting it all on the line. One shot, the whole world watching…waiting…then BOOM!! HISSTORY,” Adesanya wrote.
“Our individual legends will always be intertwined because of the stories we’ve told with our beautiful violence. I’m grateful we have this rivalry, I’m grateful he beat me. It forced me to grow, made me better,” continued Adesanya. “Now I have done the same for him, the gift that keeps on giving…ass whoopings. Shoutout to the Warrior from Brazil Alex “Poatan” Pereira!”