![Alex Pereira (right) on his relationship with Israel Adesanya (left). [Image courtesy: Getty Images]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/01/71d21-17380337957149-1920.jpg)
![Alex Pereira (right) on his relationship with Israel Adesanya (left). [Image courtesy: Getty Images]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http%3A//www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns%3Axlink='http%3A//www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20viewBox='0%200%2010%206.25'%3E%3Cfilter%20id='b'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20stdDeviation='.5'%3E%3C/feGaussianBlur%3E%3CfeComponentTransfer%3E%3CfeFuncA%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20type='discrete'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20tableValues='1%201'%3E%3C/feFuncA%3E%3C/feComponentTransfer%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20filter='url(%23b)'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Alex Pereira recently shared his honest feelings toward Israel Adesanya and revealed whether he'd be cheering on 'The Last Stylebender' this weekend. Adesanya is set to face Nassourdine Imavov in the headliner of UFC Saudi Arabia in a middleweight contest.
Pereira and Adesanya have quite a history. The two combat sports rivals have faced each other twice as kickboxers and twice as MMA fighters, with Pereira being 3-1 up on the Nigerian-born Kiwi. However, Adesanya notably knocked out the Brazilian in their last encounter at UFC 287 in April 2023.
Despite their storied rivalry, Pereira holds no ill-will toward Adesanya and will be backing his long-running rival to win this weekend. In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Pereira was asked whether he'd be supporting Adesanya against Imavov. 'Poatan' replied:
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"No, I don't see myself cheering against Israel Adesanya. I wish him the best... Maybe without him, I wouldn't be where I am today. I wouldn't have got into the UFC with the good contract that I did due to the history we have."
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Israel Adesanya on potentially training with Alex Pereira in the future
Israel Adesanya recently shared his thoughts on potentially training with Alex Pereira in the future. The Nigerian-born Kiwi expressed his eager interest in working with the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion and dismissed the notion that they're still bitter rivals.
In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, 'The Last Stylebender' shared his thoughts on Pereira and potentially training with the Brazilian. He said:
“Yeah, definitely down the road. Me and Alex, I’ve already said I got what I wanted from that fight. I think the MMA world just gets greedy and tries to ruin a good thing because they want more. Never knowing when to quit. That’s why you shouldn’t gamble... I’ll always respect ‘Poatan.’ He’s a guy that we already understood this and we’ve already shared this with each other, so yeah, it will happen one day. Who knows when.”
