Alex Pereira has called Israel Adesanya a ‘child’, after the latter celebrated his knockout of Pereira by mocking the Brazilian’s son.
Adesanya stopped Pereira in the second round on Saturday, regaining the middleweight title in the main event of UFC 287. With the victory, Adesanya finally secured a win over Pereira after three losses to his long-time rival – who beat the Nigerian-New Zealander via TKO in November to become UFC champion, after beating Adesanya twice in kickboxing.
Pereira’s first kickboxing win against Adesanya came on points in 2016, before the Brazilian knocked out the “Last Stylebender” in 2017. Pereira’s son, who was five years old at the time, celebrated the latter result by mocking Adesanya, flopping onto the ring canvas in front of him. And Adesanya returned the favour on Saturday (8 April).
Moments after knocking out Pereira, Adesanya spotted the 35-year-old’s son, now 12, in the crowd at Miami-Dade Arena. Adesanya, 33, proceeded to point at him and flop to the mat.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t do the same,” Pereira said on YouTube on Tuesday (11 April). “I can play with him like I’ve always played – I’ve teased him – but I don’t know, he’s another child.
“I don’t know what his feelings were. He was enduring this for seven years, and I saw his joy after the knockout. That was his dream, and he made it, but we’re comparing him with a child who was five years old at the time, right?
“I knocked [Adesanya] out [at UFC 281], I won the belt, and my kid wanted to do the same thing up there. I told him, ‘No, stop, don’t do it. Stay here, don’t do anything.’ I’m a conscious guy about everything I’m saying here, and I wouldn’t do it.
“If [Adesanya] did it and felt better that way, okay, it’s a relief he had. And if he thinks it’s better for him, okay, that won’t change anything for me.”
Pereira’s comments come after he was filmed speaking with Adesanya backstage, in the aftermath of UFC 287. Pereira and Adesanya paid each other respect, with the latter suggesting that the pair could train together in the future.
“If we’ll train together or not, it’s up to him,” Pereira said on Tuesday. “I’m always willing to be good with everyone [...] I’m willing to do anything.
“I don’t have a rivalry with anyone, I’m not a rival of Adesanya. He hadn’t won any fights [against me], and he had this feeling. Maybe today after having one victory over me, maybe he will change his mind. If it changes, it will be cool.”
Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos.
