The rivalry between Israel Adesanya and current middleweight champ Alex Pereira has been one of the most longstanding ones in combat sports history. What started off as an enmity centered inside the kickboxing ring, eventually found its way to the UFC canvas on November 2022, which ended up with the New Zealander getting knocked out and losing his middleweight title.
Following the loss, Adesanya now has his sights set on claiming his crown back from the Brazilian at UFC 287. Heading into the fight, the former champ clearly has exuded only confidence despite the fact that he has lost thrice to Pereira, with two of them coming in devastating KOs. This confidence is clearly on the show in his social media posts, especially the most recent one. In a series of training photos, Adesanya took a sly dig at Pereira as he posted an image resembling the Brazilian getting hit, followed by a still of Pereira himself.
Twitter reacts to Israel Adesanya’s post taking a dig at Alex Pereira
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Fans naturally reacted to the tweet by Adesanya. While some of his fans rooted for him to finally defeat Brazilian and bring home the middleweight crown, others thrashed him, claiming that he would lose yet again.
💔💔💔💖
One life, roll the dice. 🎲 🎲 #Player1 pic.twitter.com/MAF5JdJYv6— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) February 20, 2023
Pereira’s fans clearly didn’t take a liking to the post by Adesanya.
Don't hunt anyone that bit the sit out of you max 3 times. Never ever go for 4.
— DR ACID MMA (@DrTanvir12) February 20, 2023
One ardent fan of the New Zealander pointed out a classic fight between Rampage Jackson and Wanderlei Silva in a bid to motivate Adesanya.
The get back. I remember when rampage lost twice to Wanderlei and then KO’d him in their 3rd. 1 time and the world forgets
— 🇦🇺 (@Menacee0) February 20, 2023
There were a few fans of the former champ, who felt that he was always a better fighter than the Brazilian.
Run it back..Izzy is clearly a better fighter than pereira
— Abel (@letsgooobills) February 20, 2023
You're going to kill him next fight. Had buddy on the stanky leg wobbling last one. Finish the kill 😤🔥
— CJ (@artnkicks) February 20, 2023
Apart from the evident love, a few haters also joined in on the party.
Don't worry FATE is gonna be the same again
This time he will KO you BUT bit Early
MY PREDICTION YOU GET KOed IN ROUND 2
**LOCKED**
— Beingbangboom (@Asif07md) February 20, 2023
He's really living rent free in your head, isn't he
— Green-mean-charting-machine (@Kikushken) February 20, 2023
You doing the mcgregor now 🤣 he beat you remember? 3x
— king of the WOKE (@Woketardz) February 20, 2023
Mentally ill kid, this ain't a anime/hentai reality fam. 3-0 soon to be 4-0
— YHoudini (@YHoudini47) February 20, 2023
One fan of the middleweight even had some life advice too.
I sort of agree BUT if you die rolling the dice to hard you miss out on life, seeing your family live and grow. Balance brother, balance!
— ntdos melonjuice (@MelonjuiceNtdos) February 20, 2023
Despite the fact the people have continued to slander him because of the losses, Izzy clearly hasn’t lost any bit of belief in himself. And his ability to take a jibe at the man who beat him every time they faced is a clear sign of that.
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Adesanya and Pereira set to rematch at UFC 287
Not even six months after they fought each other at UFC 281, the long-time rivals are set to clash yet again on April 2023. The bout will be taking place in Florida and has quite an exciting number of matchups on the main card. Despite his last loss, Adesanya still heads into the bout as confident as ever. Although will he be able to pull off a technical masterclass yet again is a question that is up in the air.
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Do you think Adesanya can finally claim a win over Pereira? Or will Pereira finally beat the man once again? Let us know in the comment section below.
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