Former undisputed UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya admits that he was taken aback by the reaction of current titleholder, Alex Pereira’s reaction to his review of UFC 286 last week – defending his interests and lifestyle, as well as questioning who the Brazilian thinks he actually is to be casting judgement.
Adesanya, the current #1 ranked middleweight contender, is booked to headline UFC 287 next month in Miami, Florida – taking on the above-mentioned Sao Paulo native, Pereira in an immediate championship rematch.
Headlining UFC 281 back in November of last year at Madison Square Garden, Pereira managed to clinch the undisputed middleweight championship in a rallying display against Israel Adesanya – stopping the City Kickboxing staple with a fifth round standing TKO victory.
Set to defend his title in a rematch against the Nigerian-Kiwi in just over three week’s time, Pereira shared his reaction to Adesanya’s review of UFC 286 last weekend – appearing to scoff at the latter’s collection of stuffed animals and plush toys.
Israel Adesanya looks to finally break his duct against Alex Pereira next month
Defending his own interests and lifestyle, Adesanya posed the question to Pereira as to whom he thinks he is, in order to cast judgement on someone else’s interests.
“That was weird, bro,” Israel Adesanya said on The Rock podcast. “You know what’s weird though for me, I’m like – I don’t care but there’s one reaction he gave. This one reaction he gave, like, they pan to, like, some stuffed animals, right? And he goes like [mimic Alex Pereira’s reaction] – and for me, I’m like, ‘Who the f*ck do you think you are?’ Like that, I don’t look at him and go, ‘Why you wearing that f*cking face paint?’… I don’t care.” (Transcribed by MMA News)
Successfully defending his undisputed title on a slew of occasions before his November knockout loss, Adesanya had landed wins over Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, Marvin Vettori, Robert Whittaker, and Jared Cannonier prior to his defeat to Pereira.