Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira recently found themselves in line together at an airport.
Before signing with the UFC, Adesanya and Pereira became rivals after fighting twice in kickboxing. Both fights were action-packed, with ‘Poatan’ winning the first meeting by decision and the second by knockout.
Over the past six months, the rivalry between the elite strikers has escalated with two more fights in the Octagon. Pereira continued his dominance by defeating Adesanya for the UFC middleweight champion in November 2022. ‘The Last Stylebender’ claimed his revenge by regaining the 185-pound title on April 8 with a highlight-reel knockout.
Earlier this week, Adesanya recorded a video of himself with Alexander Volkanovski at an airport. When he turned his camera, Pereira was seen several people behind him in line. ‘Poatan’ followed with his own video as he stood next to ‘The Last Stylebender.’ Although they have fought four times, the vibe seemed cordial.
Watch Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira coincidentally run into each other at an airport below:
What’s next for Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira?
It’s no secret that Alex Pereira was cutting a massive amount of weight to make the middleweight. After being dethroned by Israel Adesanya, ‘Poatan’ decided to move up to light heavyweight, where he will make his divisional debut on July 29.
In the UFC 291 co-main event, Pereira looks to make a statement in the light heavyweight division by taking on Jan Blachowicz. The Polish fighter is coming off a split decision draw against Magomed Ankalaev for the vacant 205-pound title in December 2022. If ‘Poatan’ can emerge victorious, he could punch his ticket to a title shot.
Meanwhile, Adesanya is waiting for his next title challenger to be revealed. ‘The Last Stylebender’ holds wins against the middleweight top five, making it unclear who could be next. With that said, there is a potential number-one contender fight on July 8.
At UFC 290, Dricus Du Plessis looks to continue his impressive run by taking out Robert Whittaker. Although Whittaker has two losses against Adesanya, Dana White has shown interest in giving ‘The Reaper’ another title shot if he beats Du Plessis. Only time will tell who is next for ‘The Last Stylebender.’
