Alex Pereira is definitely on a winning spree, not just in his MMA career, but in winning over fans’ hearts as well. Even though he shared a heated rivalry with Israel Adesanya for about 8 years now. The duo faced each other at Glory Kickboxing back in 2016 where they fought each other for the very first time. The result was indeed in favor of the Brazilian. Pereira and Adesanya fought once again in 2017, but this time, Pereira won the bout via a knockout. But Pereira wasn’t done yet.

Poatan seemingly followed Adesanya to the UFC and knocked him out at UFC 281. However, the fourth battle saw Adesanya as the winner via knockout. Needless to say, the 8-year-long rivalry gave rise to many bitter exchanges of words. Despite their history, the Brazilian fighter recently decided to finally bury the hatchet and surprise the fans.

In a video that the light heavyweight champ released on his YouTube channel on the 13th of July, he was clearly rooting for his former rival to take the win against Dricus Du Plessis. Adesanya and Du Plessis are all set to land against each other at UFC 305 to settle the ‘real African’ debate. But why was Pereira rooting for Adesanya? Let’s hear it directly from the champ himself.

In the video, the man with the hands of stone claimed, “I don’t see Adesanya losing. Just because he said that about me, doesn’t mean I’ll say it back. It’s what I think. I don’t think he loses this fight. I hope he wins because he has a beautiful story… I can see he is a good person. So that’s why I’m here, cheering for him. If he doesn’t cheer for me, that’s not my problem. But I’m here, cheering for him.”

And when MMA Junkie brought forth Pereira’s words to Instagram via a post, without a doubt, the fight fans who were already head over heels for Pereira, showered the champ with their respect. Let’s see what the fans had to say about it.

Alex Pereira wins the fans’ hearts with his support for Israel Adesanya

As soon as the post was shared on Instagram, the fight fans took over the comments section and revealed their thoughts. Without a doubt, Pereira’s humility was greatly appreciated by the fighting community. But the fans also noticed Adesanya’s bitterness for his former opponent. One fan addressed this and wrote, “Super humble man, Izzy man just let go of that bitterness, you beat him already in beautiful fashion. Show love to him just like he is to you!” Another fan commented, “Alex Pereira is an absolute class act, despite Izzy constantly picking against Alex each time he competes, Pereira still has respect for Izzy! Alex Pereira is truly special.”

Pereira’s left hook is quite infamous for sending his opponents to the shadow realm. Pointing this out, a fan wrote, “Poatan killed him with the left hook first now he’s killing him with kindness😂💯💪🏾 chama.” The Brazilian successfully conquered the fans’ hearts with his mindset. “Just when you were digging deep for another reason to Chama more than you already do. He’s got a true champion mindset. W man right there,” read another comment.

The fighting community wasn’t oblivious to the last fight when ‘The Last Stylebender’ and ‘Poatan’ fought in the Octagon. It was the first time when Adesanya took Pereira down. But the New Zealander dissed the Brazilian over and over on social media and promised to fight him once again. Nevertheless, the fight fans weren’t happy with Adesanya still fuming over his rivalry, while Pereira was quite supportive of him. One fan wrote, “Such a good dude. Got knocked out in the last fight by Izzy and still isn’t salty. Izzy got knocked out a couple fights ago and won’t let it go. Izzy my man, take notes.”

Without a doubt, Adesanya was a fan-favorite fighter for a long time. His striking prowess isn’t something that one can take lightly, especially with what he has achieved in just 9 fights. This led many to imagine the ‘Poatan’ as the villain in the story. But times have now changed. A fan commented, “Alex really went from evil villain coming into UFC to hero. Love it.” Even loyal Adesanya fans couldn’t help but display their appreciation for Pereira. “Damn. How could anyone dislike him? 😂 I’m still a Izzy fan but this is beautiful,” read a comment.

Within a few years, the Brazilian took over the world with his dominant stance in the Octagon and kind words outside the Octagon. What are your thoughts? Will Adesanya triumph against Dricus Du Plessis? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.