Having built bridges on his rivalry with arch-rival Israel Adesanya, UFC 313 star Alex Pereira now wants to be friends with one of the Three Kings. Yeah, you heard that right. For the UFC light heavyweight champion, life doesn’t just end at making up with the Kiwi. Following a run-in with the former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, Pereira let his intentions be known.
Pereira, the current 205 lbs kingpin, returns to Las Vegas this weekend for one of the biggest UFC PPVs of the year to lodge his fourth defense of the crown against Magomed Ankalaev. As he spent some time at the UFC PI before the big weekend, he ran into Usman, who, while inactive from the octagon, has been training for a potential comeback.
This is where the duo met and shared a laugh as Pereira actually said something that Usman could understand without a translator. Yes, we have ourselves Alex Pereira speaking English before GTA 6!
Shaking hands and hugging, Pereira questioned if he could be friends with Usman. who claimed he had no issue with him, before complimenting his English language learning.
“Now that I’m friends with (Israel) Adesanya, he (Kamaru Usman) has to be my friend,” Pereira told coach, Plinio Cruz.
Alex Pereira runs into Kamaru Usman at the UFC PI
“Now that I’m friends with Adesanya, [Usman] has to be my friend.”
@AlexPereiraUFC #UFC313pic.twitter.com/MNMAmr54ki
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 4, 2025
And insisting there was no problem with that request, Usman claimed he and Pereira were “never not friends.”
Describing the Brazilian as a “warrior”, Usman explained how he had to respect Pereira as such. “When you’re warriors, never not friends, [we] share the same spirit.“, he added.
This new friendship comes just weeks after Pereira and Adesanya hung out at UFC 312 in Australia, where the Brazilian even offered Izzy to train together.
Poatan and Izzy hug it out
Watching on as Adesanya received his imminent UFC Hall of Fame induction, Pereira urged the Nigerian-Kiwi to join his training camp sooner than later.
“Let’s train together,” he told Adesanya through interpreter, Cruz. “Let’s get this partnership going. I have a lot to show you. And you have a lot to show me. Chama.” he said.
When reporters asked Izzy what the new-found love for his former foe was all about, the Kiwi superstar let them know that he was just a chill guy and didn’t harbor grudges that ultimately were bad for him.
In fact, some weeks later, bucking a recent trend of picking against Pereira in title fights, Adesanya issued a brief prediction for this weekend’s UFC 313 headliner.
Picking the Sao Paulo finisher to emerge with a victory, Adesanya stated, “Poatan. Chama.”
This nicety isn’t surprising, though. For a better part of last year, Adesanya seems to have made peace with his demons, and in return, has been able to make friends with his rivals, from Robert Whittaker to Pereira.
During a chat with MMA veteran Demetrious Johnson, he even called Pereira a special human being.
“What he’s done in this game, in fighting and for his life, as well. I’ll always respect him. I’m grateful for those moments because for me. It taught me so much about myself and where I can go. “, he said gratefully.
“That one, I was ready to die, but this one, I just knew, ‘There’s no f****** way, this guy, I swear to God,” Adesanya continued when asked about another fight with Poatan and joked, “I will die… fourth time’s a charm.’
