There are very few fighters in the UFC who are as dominant as light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. The Brazilian has defended his title thrice in the year 2024 and seems unbeatable at the moment. However, there’s one fighter who has managed to do that, and that’s former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Both fighters have had a long rivalry between them since their kickboxing days. However, there is a lot of mutual respect between the two, and this was pretty evident during a recent fan interaction, wherein ‘The Last Stylebender’ reminded a young fan of how good Alex Pereira really is, and he doesn’t want anyone to disrespect him.

The UFC has witnessed many rivalries in the past, but there’s nothing bigger than the Adesanya and Pereira rivalry. Two of the most elite strikers in the UFC have faced each other twice inside the Octagon, and the fans enjoyed both of the clashes. ‘Poatan’ managed to dethrone Adesanya from his throne during their clash at UFC 281. However, things took a turn in their second clash at UFC 287. ‘The Last Stylebender’ won back his title as a result of an outstanding knockout victory.

Their rivalry has finally come to an end, and Pereira has moved on to a completely new division. And recently, Back Yard Violence shared a video of the entire interaction on their Instagram channel. During the video, a young fan seemed to be a fan of Adesanya, but he disrespected ‘Poatan’ in the process. The former middleweight champion quickly reminded the young kid how good the Brazilian is. Adesanya said, “No he’s all good. He’s really good. Respect. I beat him already you can give me that.” Of course not before reminding the fans what he achieved!

Both fighters are now looking to make a name for themselves in the promotion but in different divisions. However, the fans want to know whether the pair will ever take on each other. Well, looking at Pereira’s past Instagram post he has shown his willingness to come down to the middleweight division. All these are speculations, and only time will tell whether we will see a trilogy fight in the future.

Bur for now, it seems ‘The Last Stylebender’ has moved on from the fight and has no interest in facing the Brazilian. The 37-year-old recently sat down for a chat with Joe Rogan and discussed his future plans. While speaking to the JRE host, he shared his honest opinion on his rivalry with Alex Pereira and what exactly he wants.

Israel Adesanya doesn’t want to face Alex Pereira ever in the UFC

Israel Adesanya made a comeback to the Octagon after a gap of nearly one year at UFC 305. Despite failing to win the title Adesanya looked good in the fight and made it clear he is far from over. However, he is now focused on winning titles and has no interest in fighting with Pereira again. Despite the fans wanting to see a trilogy fight, ‘The Last Stylebender’ shared his honest opinion in the latest JRE MMA Show #164.

While speaking to Rogan, he said, “I love that story for myself, and I’m happy. People still go, “Oh, when you’re the third one?” I’m like, “Look, I do it again. I [ __ ] knock them out.” Oh no, okay, now it’s 3-2. We got the best out of seven, right? I’m not fighting for anyone else. I only have so much left in this game. I’m not going to spend this game fighting.”

 He further added, “I go. I don’t know how long is left, but I just know I’m definitely on the other side of my career. So I want to get these fights out the way, and now I’m not champ anymore in the UFC. So I just, I’m in this situation where what do I do? I know I want to fight, though.” Adesanya is currently preparing for his next fight and is waiting to get back to winning ways once again. His recent run has raised a lot of questions among the fans, and many are even contemplating he should retire from the sport.

However, the former champion is confident that he will definitely win the title before retiring from the sport. Can Israel Adesanya once again get back to winning ways in his next fight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.