‘I didn’t go become famous’ – Chael Sonnen says Alex Pereira is ‘jealous’ of Israel Adesanya’s indomitable reign heading into UFC 281


‘I didn’t go become famous’ – Chael Sonnen says Alex Pereira is ‘jealous’ of Israel Adesanya’s indomitable reign heading into UFC 281

Chael Sonnen (L), Alex Pereira (R)

In what is inevitably bound to be a fight for the ages, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya takes on new UFC entrée Alex Pereira.

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Many have predicted that Alex Pereira’s freakish power in his hands could get the job done against his former kickboxing foe, Israel Adesanya. While there may be a lack of tunnel vision regarding this prediction, most of it is based on evidence – when Adesanya got KO’d by Alex Pereira under the Glory kickboxing banner.

Now, Chael Sonnen has come forward to delve deeper into what he thinks Alex Pereira’s thought process might be. He said, “The two-time winner is the one wanting a rematch and thinking about the opponent. “That’s interesting to me.

He continued, ‘I [Alex Pereira] was better. I had a better art. People didn’t know me. I didn’t make money. I didn’t get a fight on pay-per-view. I didn’t go become famous. I feel like I’m better, so I had to follow him over here and take what he’s got.’

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Chael Sonnen delves deeper into Alex Pereira’s psychology ahead of the UFC 281 fight with Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya (L) and Alex Pereira (R) face-off before their UFC 281 fight
Israel Adesanya (L) and Alex Pereira (R) face-off before their UFC 281 fight

Chael Sonnen’s analysis is interesting, to say the least. However, that was not the end of it – he had much more to say about the matter.

He said, “Well you know, you’ve got my interest though. That’s very compelling. The guy that wins doesn’t generally chase the other guy. Now when you’re talking about fame and money, you’re talking about jealousy. You’re talking about envy. The corrupt desire to possess something that somebody else has. That’s powerful stuff.

Chael Sonnen, thus invoked a personal feeling of missing out on Alex Pereira’s behalf. That could definitely be the case – after his defeat to Alex Pereira in 2017, Israel Adesanya left kickboxing to search for greener pastures. At this point, Adesanya wasn’t the greatest kickboxer alive. He had won titles but the Glory championship had eluded him.

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Also Read- “Stomp his head” – Israel Adesanya reacts to Alex Pereira’s son mocking him after BRUTAL knockout loss at Glory Kickboxing

And then, he moved to the UFC. Safe to say, the ambitious move was the right one. Since his departure from kickboxing, Israel Adesanya has lost just one fight – that against Jan Blachowicz at light heavyweight last year. Hence, it is only but expected for Alex Pereira to feel confused – after all, the Brazilian bested the Nigerian-Kiwi twice. Now that his nemesis was enjoying success, it only made sense for Pereira to transition to the big leagues.

And, if his three fights are anything to go by, his transition has been effortless. He has two knockout wins in three fights, wherein one came against Sean Strickland. It will be interesting to see which, of the rivals takes the middleweight crown. Whatever be the case, this might just Israel Adesanya’s hardest UFC fight to date.

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