Israel Adesanya is rooting for his former foe to become a
three-division champ. | Getty/UFC
Israel
Adesanya and Alex
Pereira have shared one of the healthiest rivalries in combat
sports history.
Pereira is scheduled to fight Ciryl Gane
(13-2) for the interim
UFC heavyweight title in the co-main event at
Freedom Fights 250 on June 14 at the White House. Adesanya is
backing his former foe Pereira to defeat Gane. While Adesanya knows
that Gane has elite movement, he believes “Poatan” can shut the
Frenchman’s lights out.
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“I hope Alex wins,” Adesanya said on YouTube. “Gane’s no joke. Gane can dance around,
Gane’s slick. But I think Alex can knock him out.”
A Storied Rivalry
Pereira (13-3) defeated Adesanya (24-5) twice in Glory Kickboxing,
even handing him his only kickboxing knockout loss. While Adesanya
transitioned to MMA and went on to become the UFC middleweight
champion, Pereira’s career became somewhat stagnant. However, a
comment from Adesanya, comparing their respective success, inspired
Pereira to turn his life around.
Pereira transitioned to MMA, made his UFC debut in 2021, and
defeated Adesanya a third time to win the middleweight title in
2023. Just when Pereira appeared to be Adesanya’s kryptonite, “The
Last Stylebender” exacted revenge by knocking out the Brazilian in
their immediate rematch.
Adesanya lost the title to Sean
Strickland and has since dropped two more. Meanwhile, Pereira
rose to superstardom by winning the light heavyweight title and
defending it thrice in a year. “Poatan” lost the title to Magomed
Ankalaev last year and reclaimed it by knocking him out in
their rematch. Pereira now aspires to be the first three-division
champion in UFC history.