Alex Pereira is not worried about any new faces coming into the UFC from Kickboxing. The former UFC light heavyweight champion himself came from Glory Kickboxing, following the path laid down by Israel Adesanya. In fact, it was because of ‘The Last Stylebender’ himself that he got into the UFC. But now, Poatan doesn’t think any kickboxer coming in will ever match either of their legacies.
At the time, Adesanya had also spoken in an interview saying ‘Poatan’ would have no luck in the organization and would not be able to match his legacy. Pereira took it to heart and joined the company as the only man to have defeated Izzy.
And look what that has led to now. Not only has he created his own legacy, it can be argued that he has surpassed Adesanya’s legacy in a shorter period of time.
So when in a recent press conference ahead of his next title defense, a reporter asked him about Artem Vakhitov, his former opponent joining the UFC. He responded by asserting that all Izzy and him have done has not been an easy task.
“Well people get mistaken sometimes thinking that it is easy to make a story like I did with Israel Adesanya..Bro, they are not me. They are not Israel Adesanya.”
Alex Pereira says former kickboxing foe Artem Vakhitov won’t be able to replicate his story with Israel Adesanya in the UFC.
“Bro, they are not me. They are not Israel Adesanya.” pic.twitter.com/e1bWRt3YOx
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) October 2, 2024
And he is not wrong, Pereira and Adesanya forged one of the greatest rivalries in the UFC. They also gave us some highly entertaining fights.
So to think Vakhitov will be able to come into the UFC and replicate that is a bit of a stretch according to the light heavyweight champion.
Meanwhile, as Pereira moves in for his 3rd title defense of the year, ‘The Last Stylebender‘ has come out with his predictions for UFC 307 that the former is main eventing.
Adesanya picks between Pereira and Rountree
UFC 307 is just a few days away as Alex Pereira will look to make his third title defense this year. The Brazilian is one of the most active fighters in the organization at the moment having already saved the main events of UFC 300 and 303 by taking short notice fights.
Now, ahead of his next fight, his former foe Israel Adesanya gave his prediction for the UFC 307 main event in his latest YouTube video. Hoping Pereira never gets defeated, Izzy said:
“I’m gonna go Alex Pereira by second round finish…..I hope he [Alex Pereira] retires undefeated, not undefeated but the rest of his career. It’s just gonna be like, ‘I beat that n*gga one time.'”
Israel Adesanya believes Khalil Rountree does not stand a chance against ‘Poatan’ since this is his first title defense and his first time headlining an event, the spotlight is something he will not have faced before.
Adesanya also went on to say he hopes Pereira goes undefeated from here on out so he can proudly say he beat him in his prime.
