Alex Pereira thinks Israel Adesanya may have been injured going into his title tilt with Dricus Du Plessis.
After nearly a year on the shelf, ‘The Last Stylebender’ returned to the Octagon for a long-awaited clash with Du Plessis at UFC 305 in Perth. Adesanya was primed to take back the middleweight title for a history-making third time, but it simply wasn’t meant to be after ‘Stillknocks’ secured a shocking submission victory in the fourth round.
Dricus Du Plessis submits Israel Adesanya to retain title as King of Africa.
Follow: @AFpost pic.twitter.com/YCmsIwqGNW
— AF Post (@AFpost) August 18, 2024
Reacting to Adesanya’s loss, Pereira suggested that the ‘Stylebender’ may have been suffering from some sort of ailment before he even stepped inside the Octagon that night.
“Of course, I don’t know how Adesanya was,” Pereira said on his YouTube channel. “When we are there, we don’t talk about injuries, we don’t talk about problems. We are there and we want to fight, want to win. No excuses. Maybe Adesanya had an injury, I don’t know. You could see he kicked very little. Things I say, that inside kick of Adesanya is very good. Not everyone can do that, but he can do it very well.
“I knew it was a good weapon, and he didn’t continue doing that inside kick. Even Dricus said it bothered him, and also bothered me. I’ve said it before for the people who asked me. He didn’t continue to do it. When he is only throwing hands, I think it’s easier for the opponent to protect themselves, or to get out. It was more boxing there, so it was easier for [du Plessis].”
Adesanya Responds to the Comments of Alex Pereira
Reacting to Pereira’s comments, Adesanya seemingly confirmed the light heavyweight champ’s suspicions before authoring a follow-up post to dispell any notion that he went into the fight compromised.
“It’s weird how this guy knows me…it’s like we’ve spent hours studying eachother’s moves and fought multiple times or sumn’. I mean that,” he wrote on X.
It’s weird how this guy knows me…it’s like we’ve spent hours studying eachother’s moves and fought multiple times or sumn’. I mean that. 🫡 https://t.co/Up7U8DyT2Q
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) August 25, 2024
🤦🏾♂️
I just said “he knows my style.”
Go touch some grass please…— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) August 26, 2024
We’ll never truly know if the two-time titleholder was sporting any sort of injury unless he decides to share that information with the world, but the ‘Stylebender’ has never been one to make excuses for his setbacks.
“Life goes on, I’ll be here cheering for him like I’ve always been saying,” Pereira added. “This is honest. I respect him a lot, I like his fighting style. His story is marvelous. I mirror him a lot, he’s a guy that knows what he is doing, but this last fight just wasn’t for him. I hope he recovers, strengthens his mind, and comes back stronger.”
Watch the full video below:
