Israel Adesanya isn’t sure he will fight Alex Pereira again.
In the main event of UFC 287, Adesanya reclaimed his middleweight title with a second-round KO of Pereira. The victory was special for Adesanya as he was 0-3 to Pereira – losing twice in kickboxing, once by KO and once by decision – and then lost by TKO in their first MMA fight to lose his middleweight title.
Yet, in the rematch in MMA, Adesanya landed a nice counter-shot that knocked Pereira out. After the win, he said their rivalry is over and he likely won’t fight him again, which the Brazilian wasn’t a fan of.
‘If he Wins the 205 Belt, Maybe’
Now, as Alex Pereira has moved up to light heavyweight, Israel Adesanya has revealed the only way he thinks he fights the Brazilian again.
“If he wins the 205 belt, maybe. If he wins the 205 belt,” Adesanya said on The MMA Hour. “If I’m going to bet money on it, no (I don’t think it happens). 205, I’ve been there, it’s hard. If he wins the 205 belt, though, they might give him a fast track like they did with me, and then they’re going to have a magic, crazy, f*cking epic fight at 205 with me and him. That will be us for the fifth time.”
Alex Pereira could certainly be the champion at light heavyweight as he is set to face Jan Blachowicz at UFC 291. Should he beat the former champion, he could very well get a title shot and if he wins that, the third MMA fight against Israel Adesanya would be even bigger as ‘The Last Stylebender’ looks to become a champ-champ again.
But, for now, Adesanya remains focused on defending his middleweight title, which his next defense is targeted for September in Australia. It’s expected he will face the winner of Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus Du Plessis should the winner be healthy for the quick turnaround.
