“He’s had his story—now it’s my story. I’ve closed that chapter, and again, I move on.” Israel Adesanya didn’t mince words at the UFC 287 press conference after finally exercising his demons as he knocked out Alex Pereira, the man who haunted his career, and finally put the rivalry to rest. The official record (if we count their kickboxing history) may still read 3-1 in Pereira’s favor, but that night, ‘Izzy’ settled the score on his own terms. For ‘The Last Stylebender,’ no matter how fierce the rivalry once was, he moved on—and he made sure the world knew it!

The Brazilian definitely took a little more time to move on from this rivalry. ‘Poatan’ took that loss, literally on his chin, and stepped away from 185lbs to move up to 205lbs to test murkier waters. At UFC 291, he went toe-to-toe with former champ Jan Blachowicz and managed to eek out a close split decision win. Then came his crowning moment as he knocked out Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295, and suddenly, he was holding gold in another division. And right after that? Pereira grabbed the mic and called out his arch-nemesis, “Adesanya, come to daddy!” However, this callout didn’t go anywhere as the Brazilian made 205lbs his proving ground while Adesanya continued at middleweight.

Since then, the heat between them has cooled off, and they have actually become pretty solid friends. The two even hung out together in Australia, where Pereira showed up to support Sean Strickland in his fight against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312. That moment kind of sealed it—doesn’t seem like a third fight is happening anytime soon. Adesanya’s also been making the rounds on different podcasts lately. He even popped up on Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, where the former welterweight champ couldn’t resist teasing him a bit, joking that Izzy’s been ducking Pereira for that trilogy fight.

Adesanya explained, “I just gave it to him. I was like, alright, cool! Then I had my moment, and that’s all she wrote, and that was the end of that chapter. And people get greedy again, ‘We gotta do it one more time. ’ I’m like Bro! Why? Why ruin a good thing? That’s such a great story, a great ending.”

This is when Usman quipped, “Izzy. It’s not fair! You can’t make me play this game, 4-5 times, then you finally ‘beat me’ like then say, ‘I’m done.” The former two-time champion replied, “I just needed to get one. You’ve got no one to hold him, no one to fold him, also he’s a hard fight! He knows Imma a hard fight! I’m not scared to fight the guy, it’s a hard fight, I know. I’m in for it, he knows the same thing. I finally got what I needed to get from that saga. If I beat him now, what are they going to say? Or, now it’s actually 3-2 whatever. They just like make up some new s–t that I can’t fight the same person, over a best of 7, best out of 9.”

It was definitely a funny jab from Usman, but to be fair, Adesanya’s got a point. That rivalry was fierce back then, but now? Feels like the moment’s passed for what could’ve been an epic trilogy. Pereira’s moved on—he’s focused on his rematch with Magomed Ankalaev now. And Adesanya? He’s eyeing a comeback at middleweight. Will he ever move up again to chase Pereira? Honestly, the chances feel pretty slim at this stage in his career. They’ve gone from bitter rivals to sharing laughs and mutual respect, which is rare in this sport, and that friendship just makes a trilogy even less likely at this point.

Adesanya even talked about wanting to visit Pereira’s Pataxo Tribe when they hung out at UFC 312. Not just out of curiosity, but as a way to understand his former rival on a deeper level and really immerse himself in that world. He feels a sort of spiritual connection there, too, given his own Nigerian heritage. That shared sense of culture and ancestry, even from different parts of the world, makes him believe that Pereira, like himself, draws strength from something deeper.

Israel Adesanya doubles down on Alex Pereira’s ritual practices

Adesanya’s always had a certain respect for Pereira and that spiritual bond he’s got with his tribe. He’s talked about it before, sure—but when Pereira went back to visit his tribe in Brazil, that moment kinda blew up online. ‘Poatan’ was reconnecting, grounding himself, soaking in the energy from his roots. In his own words, he was recharging his spirit with the strength of his ancestors. Adesanya, who is a Nigerian native, could relate to his experience even more this time.

Former two-time middleweight champ, while continuing his conversation at the Pound 4 Pound podcast, said, “People talk about the spirit realm and stuff. The village people are praying, yeah, they’re doing their own rituals. Honestly, man, he has this thing. He recovers well. But also, his spirit. He just knows how to [channel] from within, just bring it forth. You feel it. I don’t know how to describe it, unless you’re in there with him.”

Do you think Adesanya and Pereira will ever team up for a video visiting the Brazilian tribe, or is this rivalry just getting started and heading toward a trilogy? Let us know what you think by commenting below.