Henry Cejudo can’t understand why Alex Pereira isn’t lobbying for a trilogy with Israel Adesanya.
After getting dethroned by Pereira at UFC 281, Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) exacted his revenge by scoring a knockout of his own to reclaim the middleweight belt in this past Saturday’s UFC 287 headliner in Miami.
Adesanya’s win tied their series at 1-1 in MMA, but Cejudo still thinks Pereira (7-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) has leverage having beaten him twice in kickboxing before.
“Open your mouth and ask for a damn rematch,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “I don’t get where Alex never said anything about him fighting Israel once again. This is what really somewhat pisses me off: You have three wins over this guy. This guy gets one win over you. Now he has the right to close the chapter? No, no, because you’ve only fought in MMA two times and you guys are 1-1. You have to go to (UFC president Dana White), knock on his door and be like, ‘You know what, Uncle Dana? Be fair with me like you were with everybody else. Pretend I’m Conor (McGregor) for a damn minute.’
“Alex, if you don’t fight for this rematch, you are going to regret it. Especially after seeing Israel mocking your son and doing what he did. Bro, I’m kind of pissed off for you. You’ve knocked him out two of the four times you have fought. OK, he did get you. This is something Israel did say: He who laughs last, laughs louder. You don’t want to do that. The person who really put a stamp on it because you guys have fought two times in MMA, make it a trilogy but you have to do your job to actually sell the fight.”
Pereira has since released multiple statements, but none where he’s seriously campaigned for a rematch.
In the UFC 287 post-fight press conference, Adesanya dismissed a rematch with “Poatan,” claiming that their rivalry is now settled. White said he expected Pereira to move up to light heavyweight.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.
