“Made for This” – Israel Adesanya Likens UFC 287 Victory to Iconic Muhammad Ali Moment

Israel Adesanya is still reveling in his victory at UFC 287, and rightfully so. ‘The Last Stylebender’ conquered his long-term boogeyman, Alex Pereira in a convincing fashion to reclaim the middleweight throne. With the win, Adesanya finally beat Pereira for the first time in their seven-year-long rivalry.

The 33-year-old has been celebrating since the second Pereira hit the canvas. ‘Izzy’ started things off by miming ‘Poatan’s own archer move onto his knocked-out body. As a personal form of vengeance, he pointed out to Pereira’s son in the audience and did the same thing the boy did when Pereira knocked out Adesanya seven years ago.

Adesanya also cut an all-time great post-fight speech in the octagon and has been sharing such messages since. Now, the champion has found a similarity between his UFC 287 victory and an iconic Muhammad Ali moment. ‘Stylebender’ shared it in his Instagram story to show the world how great he is.

Israel Adesanya compares himself to Muhammad Ali

Israel Adesanya has always been one to chase greatness. In Dana White’s own words from the press conference after UFC 287, Adesanya has never turned down a fight. Prior to losing to Pereira at UFC 281, his only MMA loss was to Jan Blachowicz in 2021, when he tried to win the light heavyweight belt.

However, the Pereira loss was more personal to Adesanya as it was the third one in his career against the Brazilian. Therefore, the victory was sweeter when he finally slayed the dragon.

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As the celebrations continue, Adesanya shared an image of him standing over Pereira in the archer’s pose juxtaposed with the iconic shot of Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston. He also wrote over the image, “Made for this.”

Ali had knocked out Liston in the very first round of their second meeting on 25 May 1965. A screaming Ali standing over Liston’s cold body is still one of the most legendary photos in combat sports history.

Just like Ali proved his greatness to the world, Adesanya proved his own greatness by finishing Pereira. While there are many who still consider Pereira (3-1) up in the rivalry, nothing can dampen Adesanya’s spirits right now. With Pereira and Adesanya tied 1-1 in the UFC, many fans want to see a trilogy. However, that may not happen soon as Adesanya wants Pereira to earn another shot, as he revealed in the post-fight presser.

Watch This Story– Who will Israel Adesanya fight after UFC 287?

Do you want to see a third MMA fight between the pair? Who do you think takes it? And what do you make of the picture Izzy shared? Let us know in the comments.