Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira’s rivalry has spanned two different combat sports and has become one of the most captivating stories for the fans. Their history began in kickboxing as Pereira secured a controversial decision win over Adesanya in 2016 at Glory of Heroes 1 in Shenzhen China. The two clashed again inside the kickboxing ring in 2017 at Glory of Heroes 1 where despite dominating most of the fight, Adesanya fell victim to the Brazilian’s famed left hook and was knocked out in the third round.

In 2018 Adesanya made his UFC debut and went on a historic run that saw him claim and defend the middleweight title 5-times before he ran into ‘Poatan’ yet again! Their first fight at UFC 281 in 2022 ended with Pereira stopping ‘The Last Stylebender’ in the fifth round after he staggered Adesanya and unleashed a barrage of punches against the cage forcing the referee to call a stop to the contest. But Adesanya then avenged his loss and reclaimed his title in their rematch at UFC 287 a year later, leaving the overall record (in both sports) between them standing at 3-1.

In a recent interview with former UFC flyweight champion, Demetrious Johnson, Adesanya stated, “He’s a special human being. What he’s done in this game, in fighting and for his life, as well, I’ll always respect him”, indicating that the rivalry only exists inside the confines of the contest. However, in an update shared by MMA on Point on Instagram, it was revealed that Adesanya ‘reposted’ a tweet by a fan which stated, “If you think about it, a round is an entire fight. In other words, if a fighter wins three rounds, he proved he can beat his opponent three times. Hence why I know Izzy is more skilled. He won more rounds against Pereira.”

This prompted the combat sports fandom to criticize Israel Adesanya as they claimed that he still hasn’t moved on from the rivalry with ‘Poatan’ and sparked an avalanche of reactions in the comments. Here’s a look at what the netizens had to say!

Israel Adesanya lands in trouble with the fans for sharing a controversial take on Alex Pereira rivalry

In an interesting response, a fan brought up the fact that following the logic of the post re-shared by Adesanya, his unanimous decision loss against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 implies that ‘Tarzan’ beat ‘The Last Stylebender’ 5 times

“….. so Strickland beat Izzy 5 times”

Others roasted the entire “take” as they pointed out that you can say the same thing about every fight where someone lost in the later rounds

“Ahhh the classic I was winning till I wasn’t take”

One fan used the same analogy but applied it to athletics to point out that it doesn’t make sense in that context either

“So I’m winning a race for the entire race. But then as the last minute I get beat. I’m still the better runner 👀 are we giving out participation trophies now too?”

While some claimed that Israel Adesanya’s obsession with Alex Pereira indicates that he is still “salty” about his losses against ‘Poatan’

“Izzy is so salty, Potan living rent free in his head!”

Chael Sonnen also found himself being referenced by the fans as the former UFC middleweight title contender is notorious for humorously claiming that he is undefeated in his combat sports career despite a record of 30-17

“Bro watched too many chael sonnen compilations”

Another interesting observation was brought up by one member of the community who pointed out that the Leon Edwards vs Kamaru Usman fight at UFC 278 demonstrates why claiming rounds as ‘wins’ doesn’t make sense

“Weak take. Usman won 4 times against Leon by control and got finished in spectacular fashion by Leon literally pulling the victory out of the fire”

In conclusion, the fans aren’t on Israel Adesanya’s side with what they perceived as attempts to justify his skills over Alex Pereira by focusing on rounds won rather than fights finished. The consensus overwhelmingly leans towards the fans believing that winning a fight is what truly matters in the end. Do you agree with the fandom or Israel Adesanya in this scenario? Share your thoughts in the comments below!