While championship trilogies have been all the rage in the UFC, the rivalry between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira might follow a different path.
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On the heels of Adesanya’s second-round knockout of Pereira in the UFC 287 headliner, the newly-crowned middleweight champion shot down the notion of a potential trilogy between the two rivals.“I don’t keep score. I settle it, and now it’s settled,” Adesanya said at the UFC 287 post-fight press conference. “I gave him a fast track to the belt. I could’ve said, ‘Naw, who’s he fought? He only fought one top five.’ But no. He did well. He fought some top guys. He beat [Sean] Strickland, and I was like, ‘Well, fine, There’s no one else.’
“I was looking for that challenge. He beat me in kickboxing and I got the immediate rematch because of what I’ve done in the game. … I did the hard yard and I earned my f—-ing rematch. Now he has to do the hard yard and earn it, but I don’t think he’s going to. Go ca…