When Alex Pereira’s Spectacular Win Had Conor McGregor Proposing a Fight With Old MMA Rules Between ‘Poatan’ and Israel Adesanya

The camaraderie between two UFC fighters is a sight for sore eyes. The UFC is an ultra-competitive promotion for MMA fighters to flourish and it is rare to see fighters backing each other, especially when former UFC lightweight fighter Conor McGregor is involved. ‘The Notorious’ is not one to speak highly of just about anybody. However, there was a time when he backed former middleweight champ Israel Adesanya.

Both McGregor and Adesanya have proved their mettle in the Octagon. They have both established themselves as one of the best fighters in their respective weight classes. What’s more, is that the two fighters are teammates at Paradigm Sports. When Adesanya fought Alex Pereira at UFC 281, Pereira secured a win over Adesanya. Talking about that, the Irishman had a few comments of his own.

Conor McGregor defended his teammate Israel Adesanya after UFC 281 loss against Alex Pereira

The rules of MMA (also the UFC) dictate that there would be five-minute rounds in a fight. At UFC 281, Israel Adesanya was defeated by Alex Pereira. The two had been old rivals and Pereira had defeated Adesanya in kickboxing. Then Adesanya came to the UFC and the rivalry continued as the Brazilian followed him to the MMA promotion. Pereira had won three fights against Adesanya, leading up to the loss at UFC 281. However, McGregor seems to have a different opinion – and a very interesting insight.

“A really solid fighter this guy is! Stability. Himself and @stylebender is one hell of a rivalry! I can’t wait to see it unfold! Izzy so close each time. No time limit and Izzy still has that belt. Excited for their forthcoming! Team @ParadigmSports all the way!” – this is what McGregor had tweeted after Adesanya’s loss.

Adesanya went all in and even rocked Pereira. However, he couldn’t finish the job as Pereira was saved by the bell. That being said, Adesanya got Pereira back for it when he secured a really impressive win over the Brazilian fighter at UFC 287. Now that Pereira has moved up to the light heavyweight division, many are left wondering if there is a scope for a UFC trilogy fight.

Conor McGregor and Israel Adesanya might have been formerly under the same management, but that wasn’t the first time the two were on the same page. The two UFC fighters also have similar stances when it comes to the sport of boxing.

Are Conor McGregor and Israel Adesanya on the same page when it comes to boxing?

After getting signed to PFL, Francis Ngannou had his first fight, which was a boxing bout, against Tyson Fury. Ngannou looked really impressive and got the better of Fury. However, in the end, the judges gave the win to Fury. This didn’t sit right with a lot of people, including Conor McGregor and Israel Adesanya.

“If it was MMA, this right here is a massacre. Fair play to Francis, and fair play to Tyson for taking the unknown challenge. Francis won despite what the judges say. . .” said McGregor on Instagram. It seemed that even Adesanya was of the same opinion as he shared his thoughts on boxing. He said that boxing as a sport was truly a beautiful one. However, he did mention that boxing, as a business is ‘dirty’.

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While McGregor and Adesanya have never explicitly talked about their equation, one cannot deny that there is a lot of mutual admiration there. Being teammates at a sports agency definitely does help as well.

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