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Israel Adesanya is rooting for his former foe to become a three-division champ. | Getty/UFC
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira have shared one of the healthiest rivalries in combat sports history.
Pereira is scheduled to fight Ciryl Gane (13-2) for the interim UFC heavyweight title in the co-main event at Freedom Fights 250 on June 14 at the White House. Adesanya is backing his former foe Pereira to defeat Gane. While Adesanya knows that Gane has elite movement, he believes “Poatan” can shut the Frenchman’s lights out.
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“I hope Alex wins,” Adesanya said on YouTube. “Gane’s no joke. Gane can dance around, Gane’s slick. But I think Alex can knock him out.”
A Storied Rivalry
Pereira (13-3) defeated Adesanya (24-5) twice in Glory Kickboxing, even handing him his only kickboxing knockout loss. While Adesanya transitioned to MMA and went on to become the UFC middleweight champion, Pereira’s career became somewhat stagnant. However, a comment from Adesanya, comparing their respective success, inspired Pereira to turn his life around.
Pereira transitioned to MMA, made his UFC debut in 2021, and defeated Adesanya a third time to win the middleweight title in 2023. Just when Pereira appeared to be Adesanya’s kryptonite, “The Last Stylebender” exacted revenge by knocking out the Brazilian in their immediate rematch.
Adesanya lost the title to Sean Strickland and has since dropped two more. Meanwhile, Pereira rose to superstardom by winning the light heavyweight title and defending it thrice in a year. “Poatan” lost the title to Magomed Ankalaev last year and reclaimed it by knocking him out in their rematch. Pereira now aspires to be the first three-division champion in UFC history.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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