Alex Pereira has warned Israel Adesanya he may have rushed into having a world title rematch after losing his belt by knockout last November.
The Brazilian kickboxer defeated Adesanya twice during their time in the ring, and raced to a UFC title shot against the iconic middleweight within just eight fights in the cage. Impressively, he landed a third victory over his rival with a stunning knockout after entering the final round of their contest down on all three judges' scorecards.
And instead of opting for a tune-up or a particularly lengthy lay-off, Adesanya has decided to immediately push for a rematch, which takes place on Saturday night at UFC 287. The pair will meet for the fourth, and likely last, time in Miami atop a pay-per-view card stacked with names including Jorge Masvidal and Gilbert Burns.
Speaking with Sporting News through a translator, Pereira explained his thoughts on his rival, saying: “Fighting me this fast kind of showed me that maybe he just wanted to get it over with, wanted to get it done. Let me just fight this guy one more time.
"Then, whatever happens, at least I can live my life in peace. He knows deep inside that he lost three times and I think that weighs on his shoulders way more than it is on mine.”
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Adesanya has always had an interesting relationship with Pereira, insisting that he won their first meeting that went to the scorecards and then claiming that he was coasting to victory before one big shot caught him in their rematch. And it was an interview with Sporting News from the former champion that inspired the Brazilian into competing in MMA.
He claimed that Pereira would simply be a footnote on his legendary career, insisting that the two-time GLORY kickboxing champion would use his name to attract women at bars. Heading into their UFC meeting in November, Adesanya had never lost at middleweight and was such a dominant champion that he had beaten many top contenders twice.
“It was a heavy interview,” Pereira said. “We had fought twice and he said that he never watched any of my fights. After that he said that I would never go anywhere, that I would just be a guy at a bar using his name to try to get girls and I proved him wrong. I went after him and got to the UFC and became champ.”
