Israel Adesanya announced he’s taking a break from competition for some time.
His longtime rival Alex Pereira isn’t buying it.
“The Last Stylebender” recently told reporters in Saudi Arabia that while he isn’t retiring from MMA, fight fans also shouldn’t expect to see him back in action for a few years.
“2027, look for the return. I’ll see you then,” Adesanya said.
Pereira moved up to 205 pounds after losing to Adesanya in April and now challenges Jiri Prochazka for the vacant UFC light heavyweight belt this Saturday at UFC 295 in New York following a successful divisional debut over ex-champ Jan Blachowicz in July. The Brazilian, who holds a 3-1 record over Adesanya across two sports, reacted to Adesanya’s comments on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast ahead of his upcoming title challenge.
“I don’t think that’s true, he won’t stay [out] that long,” Pereira said. “And that’s not good for him, to not fight for that long. He’ll give other interviews soon and get motivated again. I think he needs a bit more motivation. If he finds something that motivates him, I think he comes back quickly. When he finds that motivation, he comes back sooner than that.”
The UFC announced this past November ahead of UFC 294 that Sean Strickland, the man that dethroned Adesanya as middleweight champion, was going to defend his belt against the winner of Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kamaru Usman. That, however, didn’t happen; UFC CEO Dana White said Monday that Strickland’s first title defense will be against Dricus Du Plessis.
If Adesanya does return to rematch Strickland down the line, however, Pereira sees necessary adjustments in Adesanya’s game to deal with the champion’s style.
“Since the beginning, before they fought, I said it was going to be difficult for Strickland but he’s shown evolution to his game and it was a good matchup for him,” Pereira said. “Adesanya would have to change a few things to do better there. If he comes back the same way it will be like if they had continued that fight, another five rounds.
“He needs to make some adjustments — and maybe he can change, but it’s a difficult game for him. He does that game his entire lite, and it’s very difficult to change that in one camp.”
When asked about his enigmatic social media post in which he said “maybe I’ll do a boxing fight in 2027,” the same year Adesanya mentioned his timeline for return, Pereira said he wasn’t just trolling. He is, in fact, interested in entering the squared circle after watching former UFC champion Francis Ngannou impress versus boxing great Tyson Fury.
“You saw [Conor] McGregor fighting Floyd [Mayweather] and opening many doors,” Pereira said. “I see it all as a possibility. I’m in the fight business, I know how to box too, I spar with top-level boxers, and I have the skills. Like McGregor did it while under contract with the UFC, I don’t know how it was, but we’re seeing it’s not impossible.”
