Israel Adesanya has had some great rivalries during his time in the UFC.
Some of his feuds may not have come to a conclusion as of yet with Adesanya targeting a rematch with Sean Strickland for his Octagon return.
However, if there’s one opponent that is linked to the former two-time UFC middleweight champion, it’s Alex Pereira.
The two men may be on good terms at this stage in their careers, as Pereira recently congratulating Adesanya’s UFC Hall of Fame induction.
When ‘Poatan’ first arrived in the UFC, fans dreamt of seeing him face off with Adesanya following their history in kickboxing, which eventually led them both to UFC 276.
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira were set to continue their iconic feud inside the Octagon following UFC 276
On this day in 2022, UFC 276 capped off International Fight Week in Las Vegas and set up one of the biggest rivalries in the history of the sport.
Before both men made their way to the UFC, Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira had already faced off in kickboxing on two occasions, where ‘Poatan’ emerged victorious both times.
Adesanya went on to achieve great success as the UFC’s middleweight champion before his rival eventually followed suit and joined him on the promotion’s roster.
Both men were in action at UFC 276, where their results could potentially set up a massive middleweight title fight between two iconic rivals.
That’s exactly what happened, with Pereira setting the stage for Adesanya after he knocked out Sean Strickland in the first round to prove that he was a legitimate contender at 185 pounds.
While the champion’s successful title defense against Jared Cannonier was largely forgettable, it teed up ‘The Last Stylebender’ to call out his former opponent in his post-fight interview, making reference to his previous losses to the Brazilian.
“Look, we know who’s next, that ‘Poatan’. Trust me, the first time I told you, it was an error on my part, spamming right hands and that was in kickboxing… Like I said at the press conference, next time I put you on skates, you’re gonna get frozen like Elsa. I’ll leave it at that.”
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira collided in an iconic title fight at UFC 281
After both men came through UFC 276 with wins, Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira were booked to face one another at UFC 281 in November of 2022.
The defending middleweight champion claimed that having hurt ‘Poatan’ in the past, he wouldn’t let him off the hook this time.
Despite hurting Pereira early in the fight, the challenger was able to recover, though Adesanya was ahead on the scorecards going into the fifth and final round.
In need of a knockout, that’s exactly what Pereira did as the dangerous finisher stopped his rival to bring Adesanya’s remarkable title reign to an end and crown a new UFC superstar.
At UFC 287 the following April, the two elite strikers ran it back, where Adesanya finally got his revenge by reclaiming the middleweight belt by stopping ‘Poatan’ in the second round.