Alex Pereira insists he suffered no lasting damage after he was knocked out in his world title rematch with Israel Adesanya in Miami last weekend.
The Brazilian had sprinted to the biggest prize in MMA within just eight fights when he defeated Adesanya for the third time across disciplines back in November, but the pair were immediately signed up for a rematch at UFC 287. And Pereira's reign only lasted four months before losing the second MMA bout between the pair.
But he has taken to social media to update fans on his condition after the brutal stoppage, his first knockout inside the cage, insisting that he is already working towards other plans. He is currently 3-1 against Adesanya between kickboxing and MMA, but it appears that a fifth fight is unlikely at this point in time.
"I’m just here to let you know that I’m fine," Pereira wrote to his fans on Twitter. "I want to thank my family, my team and all the people who are supporting me during my journey. Now I just have to rest and continue with the plans that are already on motion. Thanks god.”
Adesanya believes Pereira must now earn another shot at the title, after being put on the fast track due to a lack of competition atop the middleweight division. The Nigerian champion had never lost at 185lb before facing his old kickboxing rival, and had defeated the entire top five, including second victories over multiple top contenders.
"I don't keep score I settle them," Adesanya said in his post-fight press conference. "Now it's settled. Look, I gave him a fast-track to the belt, I could have said 'Nah, who has he fought?' He fought one top five guy but nah, he did well, fought some alright guys and beat f***ing Strickland.
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"I was like 'fine there's no one else', I was looking for that challenge, the guy that beat me in kickboxing, that's why I took that fight. The rematch? I got the immediate rematch because of what I've done in this game. I won the belt against Kelvin [Gastelum] and defended it against Rob [Whittaker, whom he defeated for the undisputed title after winning the interim title previously].
"Then it was [Yoel] Romero, [Paolo] Costa, [Marvin] Vettori, Rob again, [Jared Cannonier]; that's seven! My other belt would have seven f***ing gems on it. I did the hard yards and I earned my f***ing rematch, now he's got to do the hard yards if he wants to do that and I don't think he's going to."
Adesanya has always remained an active champion, fighting multiple times a year and offering rematches to the likes of Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori despite dominant victories in their first outings. There is even a belief that Whittaker, whom he stopped and then defeated by unanimous decision, could earn himself a trilogy with a series of good wins.
