“This is not personal” – Alex Pereira buries hatchet with Israel Adesanya and offers to train with nemesis

Alex Pereira aspires to bury the hatchet with arch-rival Israel Adesanya, in hopes of training in lieu of their trilogy bout.

“This is not personal” – Alex Pereira buries hatchet with Israel Adesanya and offers to train with nemesis

Alex Pereira ready to settle off enmity with Israel Adesanya, in hopes of rightful recognition as a peer and training partner (Source: Twitter/IMAGO)

Alex “Poatan” Pereira recently won the vacant light heavyweight gold at UFC 295. This came via the second-round TKO of Jiri Prochazka at the 4:08 mark. During the octagon interview with Joe Rogan, Pereira called out longtime rival Israel Adesanya. Pereira once again captured fan interest by posting a video on Instagram.

Alex Pereira once again addressed Adesanya on social media. This time, he intended to teach Adesanya a lesson about not doubting someone’s potential. Taking to Instagram, he wrote:

This is not personal with Israel Adesanya, I would even train with him in the future, but Adesanya gotta watch this video so he will never underestimate someone’s potential again! P.S: Poatan – “2 Division Champion"...
Alex Pereira via Instagram
YouTube video

Adesanya, on the other hand, is on a self-imposed sabbatical after his loss to Sean Strickland. The fighter has given an estimate of 2027 as his return date. Pereira believed that the talent of the ‘Stylebender’  was wasted on such a lapse. He has continued with his callouts in hopes of altering it.

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Pereira and Adesanya have fought multiple times in mixed martial arts and kickboxing. Pereira has a lead of 3-1 over the fighter. But the last time they met, Pereira had suffered a knockout loss, which he yearns to rectify on his own terms.

Israel Adesanya pranks the MMA world with a clickbait poster

Israel Adesanya managed to pull off a prank on fans and peers in a social media stunt. The fighter is on the sidelines after his loss to Sean Strickland. Conversely, the Nigerian-born Kiwi fighter has had numerous bouts in the span of a year. Adesanya recently got another callout from Alex Pereira. But the fighter chose to disregard it out of hand as a compulsion on the latter’s part.

Israel Adesanya hints at his potential fight with Alex Pereira for UFC 298
Israel Adesanya hints at his potential fight with Alex Pereira for UFC 298 (via IMAGO)

In collaboration with Alexander Volkanovski, the fighter recently posted an unofficial poster. The poster showcased Volkanovski, pitted against Ilia Topuria for their upcoming bout at UFC 298. The fake poster also featured a bold text graphic announcing a light heavyweight battle event between Pereira and Adesanya. Unsuspecting fans were thrilled by the clever marketing ploy and excited for Adesanya’s subsequent and quick return.

But as it turns out, it was a promotional stunt by Adesanya’s sporting brand promotion “Engage.” This stint was to boost Black Friday Sales. But it has left fans yearning for more. As of now, Adesanya’s comeback is still in 2027.

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