“I beat that guy one time” – Fans troll Israel Adesanya for celebrating KO win against nemesis Alex Pereira

Israel Adesanya and Alex “Poatan” Pereira have a long-standing rivalry with one another. Recently Pereira rendered a notion that he is willing to bury the hatchet and even train alongside the former middleweight champion. Conversely, though, Adesanya has not resonated this well in spirit. “Poatan” defeated Adesanya at UFC 281. “The Last Stylebender” was, however, able to win back the middleweight gold at UFC 287. This came in the way of a second-round knockout.

Adesanya, the then-middleweight titleholder had remediated to 24-2. Consequently, he lost the title to Sean Strickland soon after. Recently, cueing in styles from the famed game Mortal Kombat, Adesanya posted a video edit of his UFC 287 victory. A prime caricature mocked this stint with the line – “I beat that guy that one time.”

Coming into Pereira vs. Adesanya 2, “Poatan” was 3-0 against the opponent. Adesanya had previously incurred 2 kickboxing and an MMA skid against Pereira. The turnover thus meant a lot to the fighter. But fans have now mocked him time and again for being hung up on a single victory when the history between them says otherwise.

Mortal Kombat is a media franchise centered around a series of 1992 fighting video games from Midway Games. The series is notably famed for finishing moves by in-game fighting entities. As such, Adesanya’s video edit on those lines has earned some viable praise. Other fans of the community have not been so lineal with the jibes.

Fans react to Israel Adesanya’s UFC 287 video edit

At the 4:21 mark of Round 2 of UFC 281, Israel Adesanya made history by knocking out Alex Pereira. The 24-3 middleweight has since then received a multitude of callouts from Pereira. But the fighter has chosen to be dismissive of them constantly. So much so that he even mocked “Poatan” for having him rent-free on his mind. Pereira, the now light heavyweight champion and his recent callouts also saw sneers from many peers and sporting veterans. Even Daniel Cormier recently stated that such callouts shift power back to Adesanya’s hands.

Now, mimicking the gameplay style of the infamous fighting saga Mortal Kombat, Adesanya posted a video edit. The video in question was that of his knockout to Pereira at their title bout. Fans have thus brashly gibed back at him for having the opponent in his head – “rent-free“. Check out some of the reactions below.

With Pereira now advancing to two-division champion status, the darting taunts are sharper than ever. Meanwhile, Adesanya himself is on a self-imposed hiatus after his UFC 293 title skid. He has put forward 2027 as his estimated return.

In case you missed it:

• “Gives Izzy power over him,” UFC legend claims Alex Pereira challenging Israel Adesanya shifts power in latter’s hand
• “Bars are where magic happens” – Conor McGregor promotes $400 million worth Whiskey using Israel Adesanya’s bar story about Alex Pereira

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