Israel Adesanya’s rivalry with Alex Pereira is one that will stand the test of time. The two men have crossed paths in both kickboxing as well as MMA with Pereira usually getting the better of Adesanya. However, it was the Kiwi who got the last laugh when the two men squared off against each other at UFC 287. According to legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas, the win demonstrated Adesanya’s mental toughness.
In a recent episode of his podcast, ‘The Fight with Teddy Atlas,’ the legendary boxing trainer analyzed the fight between Pereira and Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303. During this, Atlas referenced the Brazilian’s fight against Adesanya and claimed it was the latter’s mentality that helped him secure a win in the rematch, saying,
“The areas I just gave him credit for, mentally to be able to overcome what he had to give himself a chance to win. That was a matter of live by the sword and die by the sword.”
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In their first fight in the UFC, Adesanya was comfortably ahead on all scorecards heading into the last round. However, Pereira landed a few shots on the button that ultimately ended the fight. Similarly, in the rematch, Adesanya was in serious trouble with his back against the cage until he landed a right hand which won him back his belt. Well, ‘The Last Style Bender’ will be aiming to put on a similar performance to win back his belt at UFC 305 in August.
Adesanya claims he is done fighting for belts
After his loss against Sean Strickland, Adesanya stated he would take a long break from the sport. However, when Dricus Du Plessis defeated Strickland at UFC 297, it provided the perfect opportunity and fight for Adesanya to come back to.
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There is bad blood between the two men and Adesanya has been wanting to fight Du Plessis for a while now. Moreover, in the build-up to the fight, Adesanya made an ominous declaration, stating that he was done fighting for belts and wanted ‘heads’ this time around.
