Israel Adesanya has nothing, but respect for longtime rival Alex Pereira. Pereira’s fans, on the other hand, not so much.
Or as ‘The Last Stylebender’ likes to call them — “Poatards.”
Adesanya’s iconic rivalry with the reigning UFC light heavyweight world champion started all the way back in 2016 under the GLORY Kickboxing banner. There, Pereira scored back-to-back wins over Adesanya — one, a questionable unanimous decision and the other, an absolutely brutal third-round KO.
They picked up right where they left off inside the Octagon, with ‘Poatan’ finishing Adesanya in the fifth round of their UFC 281 headliner to claim the 185-pound crown.