Israel Adesanya sheds light on relationship with Alex Pereira: "I have no ill will towards him"

Israel Adesanya recently shed light on his relationship with Alex Pereira ahead of his octagon return at UFC 305. Their rivalry is well documented and saw them compete twice in Glory Kickboxing and twice in the UFC, where 'Izzy' avenged his losses in their fourth bout.

Since the two competed in their fourth combat sports bout, their careers have gone in different directions. 'Izzy' went on to lose his UFC middleweight championship to Sean Strickland last September, while 'Poatan' moved up to 205-pounds, eventually won the vacant UFC light heavyweight championship, and has since successfully retained it twice.

While speaking to The Mac Life, the former UFC middleweight champion disclosed that he and 'Poatan' aren't enemies at all and are in fact on good terms with each other. Adesanya mentioned that Pereira's fans continue to believe otherwise but noted that he is happy for the Brazilian's success at 205-pounds. He said:

"I like Alex [Pereira] and I'm proud of what he's doing but his fans, they're still coping. They're like, 'it's 3-1, damnit', you know, but I like the fact that I'm in their head...[Alex] is fine, I saw something he's wishing me luck and stuff and I'm like, that's cool. I have no ill will towards him."

Check out Israel Adesanya's comments below:

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Israel Adesanya explains the reason why he backed Jiri Prochazka against Alex Pereira

Israel Adesanya explained his reasoning for backing Jiri Prochazka on both occasions he fought Alex Pereira, which some in the MMA community interpreted as 'Izzy' being envious.

That wasn't the case as the former UFC middleweight champion clarified that he has a friendship with the former light heavyweight champion. During the aforementioned interview, Adesanya mentioned that he backed Pereira against Jan Blachowicz and noted that he analyzed areas in which he believed Prochazka could have been successful. He said:

"When [Pereira] fought Jan [Blachowicz], I picked him to win...I fought both of them and I just picked him to win and I expected him to win. But if you're fighting my friend or someone I'm cool with, I'm gonna support him and I'm gonna find a way for them to witness how Jiri [Prochazka] can win. So I'll try and support that."

Check out Israel Adesanya sharing his support for Jiri Prochazka ahead of UFC 295 below: