The bad blood saga between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira is one of the biggest hits in the UFC. Their rivalry dates back to their kickboxing days but now in UFC, both fighters have one victory each over the other, making it even. But things don’t end here as the Brazilian fighter called out Izzy post his UFC 295 win over Jiri Procházka.
This move from Pereira’s end has reignited the rivalry once again. However, it is imperative to note that the two have even shared a few good moments like post Pereira vs. Adesanya 2 bout at UFC 287.
‘Poatan’ recently took to his official Instagram and shared a video which had all the rivalry moments with Adesanya. He expressed that his rivalry with Adesanya is not personal, and that Izzy should never underestimate someone’s potential again. The caption read,
“This is not personal with Israel Adesanya, I would even train with him in the future, but Adesanya gotta watch this video so he will never underestimate someone’s potential again! P.S. Poatan – 2 division champion”
The video shows Adesanya in an interview from the past where he is saying that Pereira is ‘nobody’. He is also found saying that Pereira is only trying to make his name through his kickboxing knockout win.
‘Poatan’ on the other hand has expressed many times how he enjoys the competitive aspect of the fight. The Brazilian fighter also mentioned that he isn’t very fond of the trash talks. Even Dana White once praised the fighter and advised him to just be his real self in the game.
Dana White tells Alex Pereira to be himself
The UFC president is quite vocal when it comes to openly sharing his takes on UFC fighters.
Ahead of UFC 295, he was asked if Alex Pereira has any chance to become the UFC superstar. This question was about ‘Poatan’ lacking the entertaining build-up that comes with trash-talking and being mean. However, the UFC president Dana White did not agree with the reporter and said that Pereira does not need to act like McGregor. He said,
“I think that he [Alex Pereira] does have charisma, it is different than anybody else’s. He is a mean-looking mother fu*er okay? He is a scary dude. And that is a persona in itself. And I say this all the time, people are like oh should you act like Conor McGregor? Should you be this? Should you be that? No you should be you….”
White expressed that the fighters should not be imitating other fighters or try becoming like them. He further added that a fighter must have his own persona and not just copy others or act like them.
Pereira seems like a quite calm fighter who is focused only on his training and fights. This is one of the traits that attracts his fans a lot. What is important in the world of combat is what fighters bring to the table and if that impresses the fan and in Pereira’s case, it surely does.
