Did Israel Adesanya motivate Alex Pereira to switch to MMA? 'Poatan' reveals

Alex Pereira, who is slated to headline UFC 287 against Israel Adesanya, has two wins over the Nigerian-born Kiwi under the GLORY kickboxing banner, including a 2016 knockout.

However, Adesanya took a huge lead in terms of their MMA careers, having defended the UFC middleweight title thrice by 2021 while 'Poatan' was yet to make the switch from kickboxing. Pereira recently revealed that it was Adesanya's interview with Sporting News Australia in 2020 that motivated him to switch.

Adesanya slammed Pereira for bringing up the GLORY knockout every time 'The Last Stylebender' defended his UFC title. The former middleweight champ also dismissed 'Poatan' as someone whose only claim to fame would be that GLORY KO win:

“He watches all my fights, and every time I fight, like clockwork, he’d try to put something out like, ‘I beat this guy.’ At the end of the day, no one knows who the f*ck he is, and he’s going to be that guy when I’m world champion, when I’m a legend, he’s going to be at some pub talking sh*t about, ‘I beat that guy one time.’”

Catch Adesanya's comments below:

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UFC 287 Countdown: Alex Pereira reveals how Israel Adesanya motivated him to join MMA

Alex Pereira joined the UFC in 2021 and went 3-0 in the promotion to fastrack his way to a title shot against Israel Adesanya at UFC 281 last November. 'The Last Stylebender' was on his way to a comfortable decision win before Pereira caught him with his signature left hook and followed up with a lethal barrage of punches to score a TKO win.

'Poatan' will look to defend his middleweight title against Adesanya at UFC 287, which goes down at the Miami-Dade Arena this weekend.

Leading up to the clash, Pereira stated that Adesanya's aforementioned interview posed a new challenge to him, fueling the move to MMA. The Brazilian said during the UFC 287 Countdown:

"When Israel Adesanya joined the UFC, I started taking a close look because I had [an] interest in fighting in MMA. There is a video of an interview with Israel Adesanya that motivated me so much. I felt challenged. And whenever there’s a challenge, no one can hold me back. I wanted new challenges, and the UFC was it.”

Catch Pereira's comments below: