Israel Adesanya seeks to regain the UFC middleweight title when he challenges Dricus du Plessis in the main event of UFC 305, and longtime rival Alex Pereira is openly rooting for his success.
Pereira, who fought Adesanya four times across two sports, said on his YouTube channel that he holds no grudges towards Adesanya, and unlike his former opponent, who picked Pereira to lose in fights with Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka, “Poatan” wants Adesanya to emerge victorious against du Plessus on Aug. 17.
“[People] asked me about Adesanya and du Plessis, I said I don’t see Adesanya losing,” Pereira said. “Just because he said that about me doesn’t mean I’ll say it back. It’s what I think. I don’t think he loses this fight. I hope he wins because he has a beautiful story. I think he has to continue his story.”
Adesanya beat Pereira in April 2023 but lost his title to Sean Strickland five months later, then took a year off before booking a title bout with du Plessis, who dethroned Strickland in the meantime.
“He isn’t that young anymore,” Pereira said of Adesanya. “He talked a little about wanting to stop [fighting], I think he has that in mind. I think he should continue his plans. I don’t think he finished his plans, I don’t know. If he had finished his plans he would of stopped already, so if he’s still there, he still has a dream, something to do in the sport still. I’m here, supporting him. I already fought him, I’m not going to say he should lose. I’m not mad at him, no grudges.”
Pereira and Adesanya embraced after their MMA rematch backstage at UFC 287 in 2023, when “The Last Stylebender” scored his first victory against Pereira after losing twice in kickboxing and once inside the octagon. Pereira later mentioned the possibility of training together once it was official that their paths will no longer cross.
Pereira again mentioned those intentions on his YouTube channel.
“Like I said, if one day it’s possible to train with him and exchange knowledge,” Pereira said. “We hear a lot of things about Adesanya behind the scenes, a lot of people talk about him, ‘He’s like this, he’s annoying,’ and whatnot. People who truly know him, that I have contact with, say good things about him, say he has a good heart. A lot of the times it’s just marketing, and I believe that.
“I can see he’s a good person, so that’s why I’m here, cheering for him. If he doesn’t cheer for me, that’s not my problem. But I’m here, cheering for him.”
