At UFC 295, Alex Pereira didn’t hold back in challenging Israel Adesanya, and it caught Adesanya’s attention.
Pereira, a former middleweight champion, secured his second division title by knocking out Jiri Prochazka for the vacant light heavyweight belt at Madison Square Garden in New York. Pereira made UFC history as the fastest double champion, achieving the feat in just seven fights since his debut with the promotion in November 2021.
Though Joe Rogan didn’t explicitly mention Adesanya during his in-cage interview with Pereira, the callout was loud and clear. Pereira invited Adesanya to join him in the light heavyweight division, closing his message with a straightforward appeal.
Pereira Calls Out Adesanya, Gets a Frozen-Inspired Response
“Adesanya, come to daddy,” he said.
Adesanya responded on social media with a nod to the Disney movie “Frozen.”
Let it gooooo 🎶 pic.twitter.com/gv9ZYliKwH
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) November 12, 2023
Adesanya’s response suggests he’s not keen on facing Pereira again, especially after their recent encounter in April at UFC 283 where Adesanya knocked him out. Before that, Pereira had victories over Adesanya in both kickboxing and MMA, taking the UFC middleweight title from him in November 2023.
Adesanya got his revenge five months later, and he seems satisfied with that, taking a break from the sport after losing the title to Sean Strickland in September at UFC 293.
Pereira is expected to defend his 205-pound championship against Jamahal Hill, who had to vacate the belt earlier this year due to injury.
