“Not holding onto it no more…” Alex Pereira calls nemesis Israel Adesanya to train together despite heated rivalry

Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya is one of the competitive rivalries in the UFC, if not in the whole of combat sports. They share a history dating back to 2016. Recently, they fought twice in MMA, with each fighter achieving victory. This called for a trilogy bout between the two. Pereira even called him out after winning the light-heavyweight title. Now, ‘Poatan’ has changed his mind and offered ‘The Last Stylebender’ to train with him on one condition.

In his latest appearance on the MMA Hour, Alex Pereira reflected on his rivalry with Israel Adesanya. ‘Poatan’ credited Adesnaya’s striking skills and acknowledged that they could share their knowledge and improve. Here is what he said (through a translator):

He feels that it's over, but anything can happen. I think that we could both even train together if it comes down to that... Israel is a very experienced guy, I'm a very experienced guy, similar styles of high-level striking, different aspects of the game that one could add to the other. If it comes down to that fight we'll be good, but that is not something I'm holding onto no more.

Alex Pereira (via The MMA Hour)

However, Alex Pereira was still open to the idea of fighting Israel Adesanya if the opportunity presented. But, he offered Adesanya an invite to train together if they agreed not to fight again. Earlier, Poatan trained alongside his former opponent Sean Strickland. Also, Pereira mentioned an instance of squashing rivalry with Glory opponent Yousri Belgaroui. The duo has since trained together. As such, he welcomed Adesanya to train together.

Israel Adesanya went on an indefinite break from MMA after losing his title to Sean Strickland. Since then, rumors spread he was to return to face Alex Pereira. But that wasn’t the case, as ‘Poatan’ is currently headlining the UFC 300 against Jamahal Hill. With Pereira’s invitation to train together, their historic rivalry might come to an end. However, ‘The Last Stylebender’ is yet to respond to Pereira’s open arms.

A quick look into the rivalry of Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya

The rivalry between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesnaya dates back to their kickboxing days. They first met inside the squared circle in 2016 in ‘Glory of Heroes 1.’ Little did they know they were destined to face three more times. Pereira won the match on the judges’ scorecards, but the decision became controversial. To put an end to it, ‘Poatan’ knocked Adesanya out in their second outing in 2017 in ‘Glory of Heroes 15.’

Soon after his second loss to Alex Pereira, Israel Adesanya made a transition to MMA. As such, he rose to fame, entered the UFC undefeated, and claimed the middleweight title. Conversely, Poatan entered the UFC after dominating the Glory kickboxing world. Soon, he worked his way up to a middleweight title shot against Israel Adesanya. As such, they faced UFC 281, and Pereira once again defeated ‘The Last Bender’ via TKO to grab the UFC title.

Later, they rematched in UFC 287, and Israel Adesanya finally broke through Alex Pereira. He knocked ‘Poatan’ out cold to put a stamp on their rivalry. Ever since, the UFC fans called for a trilogy, with them being 1-1 in MMA and arguably the same in kickboxing due to the controversial decision. However, Adesanya seemed to have moved on since Pereira climbed up to the light heavyweight division. Currently, Pereira reigns as the LHW champion, and Adesanya spent some time off from competition.

In case you missed it:

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• WATCH: Sneako suffers yet another ‘spanking’ from Merab Dvalishvili days after almost getting concussion from Sean Strickland

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