"Sean came in and shut his game down" - Alex Pereira denies Israel Adesanya excuses by fans, says he was at his best in UFC 293 loss

Alex Pereira has a long-standing rivalry with Israel Adesanya that began during their kickboxing careers and has extended into the UFC. While 'Poatan' has moved to light heavyweight, he shared that he is happy to see the middleweight division with a new champion.

In a post shared to his Instagram, the No.3-ranked light heavyweight stated:

"A lot of people say, 'oh, Adesanya wasn't at his best, d**n, today Adesanya didn't fight the way he usually does'. Clearly, Sean came in and shut his game down. He was really smart. He was moving forward all the time, with an amazing defense, and let's not forget the precise strikes. He walked less, circled, and landed the best attacks and well, you all saw the result."

Alex Pereira continued by praising Strickland:

"So here, I want to congratulate Sean Strickland. He did an amazing job and I'm really happy for this change in the division's champion. I think Sean's time has come and it's not likely that another, not likely, but it's tricky, the way that Sean behaved in this last fight, for someone else to quickly take away his belt. So, let's brace ourselves for many more epic fights despite some people's skepticism."

Check out Alex Pereira's comments on Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland below:

Many viewers, including UFC President Dana White, did not believe that Adesanya looked like himself at UFC 293. Following the bout, the promotional frontman claimed that 'The Last Stylebender' appeared to be moving in slow motion. Despite this, Pereira believes Strickland's fighting style is what caused the poor performance. The two appear set to rematch after comments made by White following the bout.

Alex Pereira seemingly dismissed Israel Adesanya trilogy following latter's UFC 293 loss

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira have split two meetings in the UFC octagon. 'Poatan' became the first mixed martial artist to defeat 'The Last Stylebender' at middleweight as he captured the title with a fifth-round TKO at UFC 281. He did not hold the belt for long, however, as his long-time rival reclaimed the throne at with a vicious second-round KO at UFC 287.

Following the bout, both fighters seemingly moved on from their rivalry as Pereira moved to the light heavyweight division. In the following months, however, he expressed an interest in returning to middleweight to complete the trilogy. After Adesanya lost the middleweight title for a second time, however, the No.3-ranked light heavyweight dismissed his interest in the bout, tweeting:

"Seems like my plans to go down one more time to Middleweight ran out…"

Check out Alex Pereira's tweet on a trilogy with Israel Adesanya below:

While fans may be disappointed to learn that the trilogy may not take place, Adesanya will seemingly have the opportunity to reclaim the title in his next bout. If he is successful, it is possible that Pereira's stance on a trilogy could change.