Alex
Pereira’s flying knee knockout victory over Andreas
Michailidis at
UFC 268 drew the attention of fans and media alike.
With a pair of victories against reigning middleweight champion
Israel
Adesanya under kickboxing rules — including the lone knockout
defeat of Adesanya’s combat sports career — “Poatan” has been asked
in numerous interviews how a third meeting between the two would
look under the UFC banner. The former Glory two-division champion’s
Octagon debut only served to create more interest in a future clash
between the two former foes. Meanwhile, Adesanya discussed
Pereira’s victory on his YouTube channel.
According to “Stylebender,” those losses are in the past, and he
added that he hopes to see the Brazilian in the Octagon.
“We need something new. Especially after you lap the division
again. … Good job Pereira, that was nice. One thing I notice is
everyone always holds on to that win he has over me like it’s the
be all end all. I hope he does well,” Adesanya said. “I hope he
does well through the ranks. In the next four fights, I hope to see
him.
“They’ll show you the knockout [in our previous fight], but they
won’t show you what happened before the finish. I hurt him, but I
only throw [hands] because I was infiltrated by other people’s
thoughts. But that was when I was younger. Not anymore. It’s
different now. What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.”
The first time that Adesanya and ‘Poatan’ faced each other was in
2016, when the Brazilian overcame the Nigerian via tunanimous
decision. One year later, the São Paulo native did not let the
dispute be decided on the scorecards, as he used a left hook to
score a spectacular knockout against his rival.