Is Israel Adesanya fighting Alex Pereira at UFC 298? Explaining 'The Last Stylebender's' clickbait post that left fans confused

After UFC 295, Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira 3 became a talking point. However, it wasn't the fans who demanded an MMA trilogy between the two arch-rivals, it was Alex Pereira. Upon TKO'ing Jiří Procházka to capture light heavyweight gold, 'Poatan' used his post-fight interview to callout Adesanya.

He appealed for his rival, who had announced a hiatus from the sport, to return so they could both settle the score. Pereira's suggestion of a trilogy bout was quickly dismissed by UFC CEO Dana White at UFC 295's post-fight press conference. But now, Israel Adesanya has confused fans with an Instagram post.

Mere hours ago, 'The Last Stylebender' shared an unofficial poster for UFC 298, which is scheduled to feature his close friend and training partner Alexander Volkanovski defending his featherweight title against Ilia Topuria. However, the poster also featured Adesanya himself taking on Pereira for the 205-pound strap.

Given Dana White's previous assertion that Alex Pereira will fight Jamahal Hill in his first light heavyweight title defense, as well as Israel Adesanya's own dismissal of Alex Pereira's recent callout, fans are no longer sure of what to think. However, it should be noted that Adesanya did, in the past, list a condition for a trilogy bout.

After recapturing his middleweight title (before eventually losing it to Sean Strickland), 'The Last Stylebender mentioned that he'd only entertain a third MMA fight with Alex Pereira if it was contested for the light heavyweight title, which 'Poatan' now holds. However, the UFC has made no official announcement.

Furthermore, Adesanya's Instagram post is likely clickbait, as the unofficial UFC 298 poster is part of a collage next to a promotional image from Engage, which is Adesanya's combat sports apparel brand, announcing an 80% Black Friday discount.

Lastly, it also features two pictures of him and Alexander Volkanovski, who is one of the brand's athletes, laughing together, implying that it was merely humorous misdirection to grab people's attention for the Black Friday sale.

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Israel Adesanya's MMA losses

It may be some time until fans see Israel Adesanya fight again. After losing to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in lopsided fashion, including suffering a knockdown in one of the greatest upsets in MMA history, Adesanya saw fit to take a sabbatical from the sport. It was a crushing loss, but what of his other ones?

Adesanya has only lost two other times, with his previous loss coming against his career rival, Alex Pereira, when he was TKO'd at UFC 281. Before that, his first-ever loss in MMA was a unanimous decision loss to Jan Błachowicz at light heavyweight at UFC 259.