Alex Pereira Is Here To Read A Eulogy

Unquestionably, Israel Adesanya is one of the greatest fighters to ever lace up a pair. A young legend is a fitting analogy. That said, combining his prolific combat resume, Adesanya has competed in over 146 bouts. In all these countless contests, Israel has only been knocked out cold once in his entire career to a man they call “Hands Of Stone.” Alex Pereira has arrived at the champion’s doorsteps once more, and Deja Vu is in the air.

At this stage, despite all the critique towards Adesanya and his safety-first style, you cannot question his greatness and superiority in one of the most brutal occupations. However, is it a coincidence that Alex Pereira has found himself in a championship setting for a third time against Adesanya despite already beating him twice? I think not.

How did we get here?

Your mouth is your pistol, and sometimes, the words you shoot are like bullets. In March 2020, Israel Adesanya did an interview with Sporting News Australia ahead of his fight with Yoel Romero. In that interview, something resonated with Alex Pereira when the interview popped up on his timeline.

Adesanya was asked in that interview about his knockout loss to Perreira, and he gave an answer that might have very well doomed his title reign without knowing.

“I haven’t seen any of the guy’s fights since my loss to him. At the end of the day, nobody knows who Alex is. He’s gonna be that guy when I’m a world champion; he’s gonna be drunk in some pub talking about the fact that he beat me.”

7000 miles away, Alex Perreira watched that interview, and it ignited a fire inside him to leave kickboxing and transition to MMA to enter the UFC and show up one final time at Adesanya’s home and read him his final eulogy. Seven months after that interview, Alex Pereira scored a sickening knockout at LFA and shortly after, he signed his UFC contract.

Adesanya’s interview resonated with Pereira because he was indeed heading down a dark path with alcohol, but his will to prove Israel wrong has got him to this point.

For the first time in Adesanya’s UFC career, he will be fighting a man that matches his height and reach. After all, Israel’s entire game has been built on keeping the smaller opponents at bay. However, this time, he’s facing a man who’s bigger, stronger and faster than him. Styles make fights, but when Pereira lands, all the accolades and championship rubies will turn into dust.