Prior to their UFC 303 rematch, Jiri Prochazka accused UFC 205-pound champion Alex Pereira of using spiritual warfare to win against him in their first encounter. Pereira, for his part, didn’t deny using magic (or rather black magic as Prochazka implied). What ‘Poatan’ said strengthened the impression that the Brazilian indeed does employ shamanic rituals and what some would term (rather uncouthly) juju to win fights.

“Well, everybody has their own spirits we’re not only made of flesh and bone, I’ve found mine. If he has not found his or if he does not believe, it’s not my fault,” ‘Poatan’ said at the UFC 303 pre-fight press conference.

Whether Pereira was being serious or just bluffing to make Prochazka uncomfortable remains unknown. However, given that the light heavyweight champ is of Indigenous Brazilian origin, some fans feel Pereira might indeed seriously call on spirits and use shamans before fights.

Pereira traces his roots back to the Pataxo tribe of Brazil, whose history goes back to the pre-European colonization period. The tribe, like many Indigenous communities, holds nature- rivers, trees, mountains, etc. to be sacred. In addition, the community also has some sort of ancestral worship in their belief system (or at least reverence) as they have formal ceremonies and rituals to honor the spirits of their ancestors, who they believe watch over them. Prochazka accused Pereira of using these rituals to call upon his ancestors to protect him during fights. Interestingly, Pereira’s perennial rival Israel Adesanya is all-in on Prochazka’s claims.

Israel Adesanya thinks Alex Pereira indeed uses ‘juju’ to call on spirits

Even though Jiri Prochazka would admit in an interview after UFC 303 (which he lost), that he made a mistake by bringing up the black magic allegations, the proverbial genie was already out of the bottle. Fans, of course, had already seized on it. But the buzz around Pereira’s alleged use of spiritual powers was dying down.

Until that is, ‘Poatan’s arch-nemesis and the man who has fought him more than anyone else gave his take on the issue. Just last week, Israel Adesanya told Joe Rogan recently that he truly believes ‘Poatan’ uses some sort of magic or spirits to aid him in the fights.

“You know what Jiri said about the whole juju thing? That’s real… It’s his spirit, his whatever, like ancestors or his people, that are praying for him,” Adesanya said. And how is the former champ so sure ‘Poatan’ calls on higher powers to protect him? Why because ‘Izzy’, who hails from the Yoruba ethnic group in Nigeria does the same for his fights. “I’ve got prayer warriors as well. My mum and dad are fasting, and they have people in the spirit world praying for me,” ‘Izzy’ added. What are your thoughts on Adesanya’s take on Alex Pereira’s ‘juju’?