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Alex Pereira unsure trilogy clash with UFC foe Israel Adesanya ever happens: ‘I wanted to fight him again’

Following late last month how he would entertain the possibility of training alongside two-time Octagon foe, Israel Adesanya in…

Following late last month how he would entertain the possibility of training alongside two-time Octagon foe, Israel Adesanya in the future if a third clash between the duo became elusive – light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira has effectively shut the door on a UFC rubber match with his rival in the future.

Pereira, a former undisputed middleweight champion and the current undisputed light heavyweight kingpin, is slated to make his return to the Octagon at UFC 300 in April, taking on Jamahal Hill in the monstrous event’s headlining clash.

As for Adesanya, the Nigerian-Kiwi striker claimed he had agreed to fight for middleweight gold once again in a grudge fight against newly-minted champion, Dricus du Plessis at the same event in a headliner, until the latter allegedly turned the bout down.

Alex Pereira unsure on Israel Adesanya trilogy

And claiming if a fan-anticipated third fight with City Kickboxing staple, Adesanya continues to allude him in the future, Pereira revealed he would love the chance to train with his former foe – claiming a future clash appears dead and buried currently.

“I really wanted to [fight Israel Adesanya again], but I honest think it’s over now,” Alex Pereira told MMA Fighting. “I don’t know. I think it’s over. I’ve tried [to offer him a third fight]. It was my belt [at light heavyweight] on the line. I came to the UFC and did three fights to get to the belt and it was a huge risek for me, it was hard.”

“Since I wanted to do this rubber match so much, Adesanya and I – and if he were to move up to light heavyweight, and maybe people said he had to fight once before fighting for my belt, I wouldn’t want that because there’s risk of him losing. How am I going to fight a guy that has lost? No, come straight [at me]. But he showed no interest, so I kind of let it go.”

Twice sharing the Octagon together, Pereira landed the middleweight crown back in 2022 with a stunning fifth round rallying TKO win over Adesanya, before he was stopped with a brutal second round KO last April in the pair’s immediate championship rematch.

Do you think Alex Pereira fights Israel Adesanya again in the future?

Israel Adesanya eyes rematch with UFC rival Sean Strickland, mocks title loss again: ‘What a reign’

Israel Adesanya claims a title rematch with one-time foe, Sean Strickland will come round his direction again – and…

Israel Adesanya claims a title rematch with one-time foe, Sean Strickland will come round his direction again – and remains confident of avenging the defeat, however, still took time to once more mock the championship run of the former, which ended last month at UFC 297.

Adesanya, a former two-time middleweight champion, has been sidelined since he fought Strickland atop UFC 293 back in September of last year, dropping a stunning upset decision shutout loss defeat to the Xtreme Couture staple in Sydney, Australia.

Promising a lengthy hiatus from the Octagon in the midst of his second middleweight championship loss in the space of a calendar year, Adesanya has made a significant u-turn – claiming he will fight sooner than expected.

And linked with a potential main event slot atop UFC 300 in April, Adesanya claimed he accepted a bout agreement to fight Pretoria rival, Dricus du Plessis in a title grudge match on the card, however, boldly claimed the South African reneged on the clash.

Israel Adesanya eyes title rematch with Sean Strickland

Still hoping to secure a fight with the newly-minted champion later this year, Adesanya revealed that he still wants to fight Strickland in a rematch before calling time on his career – claiming he just wasn’t supposed to win in their UFC 293 showcase.

“I look to the next fight, never – I look ahead, like a little peek at the future,” Israel Adesanya told Theo Von during an appearance on This Past Weekend. “But I don’t try to focus on it. And I just know the (Sean) Strickland fight will come back around, and I’m in a good place right now health wise, mentally, and I know exactly what happend in that fight, that just wasn’t for me.”

“He’s (Strickland) a great fighter,” Israel Adesanya continued. “He’s also a good champion – what a reign. I mean, he did what he did. Even the way he beat me was spectacular, it was his moment.”

Would you like to see Israel Adesanya rematch Sean Strickland this year?

Israel Adesanya vows to bring back ‘Vicious’ technique in return to UFC: ‘I’m tuning it up again’

Former undisputed middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has vowed to bring back his “vicious” jab with him to the Octagon…

Former undisputed middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has vowed to bring back his “vicious” jab with him to the Octagon in his return to the UFC later this year – dismissing question marks from fans and viewers of his apparent lack of action and excitement whilst fighting.

Adesanya, a former two-time titleholder at the 185lbs limit, has been sidelined since last September, headlining UFC 293.

Setting an unwanted record of suffering a second championship loss in the space of a calendar year, City Kickboxing striker, Adesanya dropped his title in a stunning upset loss to American challenger, Sean Strickland, which came less than a year after his knockout loss to arch-rival, Alex Pereira at Madison Square Garden.

However, eyeing a comeback fight in the coming months, Adesanya boldly claimed that the promotion had floated a UFC 300 headliner for him in a title charge against middleweight gold holder, Dricus du Plessis, however, explained how the South African rejected the bout.

Israel Adesanya defends his striking style

Hoping to still score an impending return to active competition, Nigerian-Kiwi striker, Adesanya vowed to bring an apparent “vicious” jabbing technique back to the Octagon in tow, before describing himself as a “highlight” fighter in defense of recent criticizm from fans.

“There’s still more that I wanna do for myself,” Israel Adesanya told Theo Von during a recent interview. “I haven’t mastered the game yet. I’m still learning. Even right now, we’re working again on my jab. I’m changing it up now because there’s so much footage on me people can watch. …Like, my question mark kick was f*cking everyone up, early on. But it got to like – maybe after the Robert Whittaker fight, maybe the (Yoel) Romero fight, no – (Paulo) Costa fight – from that fight, people kind of know the question mark is coming.”

“My jab was vicious – it still is,” Israel Adesanya explained. “But I’m just bringing it back. I’m tuning it up again. So, it’s constant evolution, constant learning, every time. And my grappling as well, I do wanna show it off. F*ck the belts, and all that, it’s more highlights. For me, I’m a highlight guy.” (H/T MMA News)

Do you think Israel Adesanya fights Dricus du Plessis in his UFC return?

Israel Adesanya claims Dricus du Plessis turned down UFC 300 title grudge fight: ‘His side didn’t want it’

Amid recent claims from City Kickboxing teammate, Dan Hooker regarding his planned involvement in a monstrous UFC 300 card…

Amid recent claims from City Kickboxing teammate, Dan Hooker regarding his planned involvement in a monstrous UFC 300 card later this year, former middleweight kingpin, Israel Adesanya has claimed arch-rival, Dricus du Plessis and his team rejected an offer to fight him on the pay-per-view card in April.

Adesanya, a former two-time titleholder at the middleweight limit, has been sidelined since he headlined UFC 293 back in September of last year, where he dropped the championship in a shocking upset defeat to Sean Strickland.

The defeat came as Adesanya’s second in his three most recent Octagon walks, while he also set an unwanted record as the first fighter in the promotion’s history to lose a championship twice in the space of a calendar year.

And linked with a championship return against Pretoria native, du Plessis ever since the South African’s ascension to the throne at UFC 297 back in January, Nigerian-Kiwi striker, Adesanya had been linked with a headlining bout atop UFC 300 in April against the newly-minted gold holder.

However, earlier this month, UFC CEO, Dana White confirmed how light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira – an arch-foe of Adesanya would be headlining the monumental card in a title fight against former gold holder, Jamahal Hill.

Israel Adesanya claims he was set to headline UFC 300

As far as Adesanya is concerned, however, initial plans were set for him to fight du Plessis in the main event of UFC 300, until the latter’s team rejected the bout, according to the former.

“There’s some things that were meant to happen,” Israel Adesanya told Theo Von during a recent interview. “They [the UFC] summoned me – they summoned me – I’m sure this is out there, and Eugene (Bareman) said some stuff. But they summoned me, they summoned me for [UFC] 300. And I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s roll’. But, their side didn’t want it.”

“So I was like, ‘Well, f*ck it, I’m just going to keep’ – yeah, they didn’t want it,” Israel Adesanya explained. “They just fought (Sean) Strickland, so, maybe he [Dricus du Plessis[ had a little niggling injury and stuff. But, hey, we all got niggles and whatnot. But I’ve fought injured for the last how many fights? So, that’s why I took time off, just to let my body heal. And it has healed, and I’m sure there’ll be more injuries – it just happens when you’re training, when you do what we’re doing.

Do you think Israel Adesanya fights Dricus du Plessis this year?

Israel Adesanya ‘Was stepping up to fight’ at UFC 300 prior to booking of Pereira – Hill title headliner

UFC lightweight Dan Hooker claims that Israel Adesanya was prepared to step in and fight at UFC 300. Following…

UFC lightweight Dan Hooker claims that Israel Adesanya was prepared to step in and fight at UFC 300.

Following his shock loss to Sean Strickland, it appeared that Adesanya was going to take some time away from the sport in what would be his first real break after an active combat career across both MMA and kickboxing.

However, after posting some training clips and rumbling began of a return it seemed Israel Adesanya had a change of heart. In fact, teammate and pal, Hooker, claims that the former UFC middleweight champion was preparing to comeback for UFC 300 to face bitter rival, Du Plessis.

Israel Adesanya was set to fight at UFC 300, according to Dan Hooker

“It’s a good fight they scratched together,” Hooker told Sky Sports New Zealand. “I want to know, I want Dana to come out and say that what had all gone on behind the scenes. Because as far as I knew, Israel was stepping up to fight in that 300 slot.

“He’s (Adesanya) continued to stay in the gym and stay healthy and stay training very hard, so I would anticipate him getting another fight booked pretty soon.”

The UFC were desperate to put together a solid UFC 300 main event and the promotion appeared to like the idea of Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya. However, the champion said he would be unable to make the date after a hard-fought five-rounds with Du Plessis in January. Hooker believes that Du Plessis was unwilling to risk his position but couldn’t really blame him for doing so.

“I feel like Dricus, that was going to be a big ask after the five rounds he had with Strickland, he took a lot of damage in that Strickland fight,” Hooker said. “And yeah, he turned the title fight down before. He was supposed to fight Israel in Sydney when [Izzy] fought Strickland. But he had, like, a niggle, he had an injury, and he wasn’t prepared to take that risk.”

“I was not surprised at all that he wasn’t prepared to rush back and take that risk for UFC 300. Can I criticize him for it? I can’t really, cuz it worked out in his favour the last time. He’s now the one walking around with the title. So can I criticize? ‘You should want to fight at UFC 300 with half a training camp!’ I can’t, I can’t criticize him.”

Who wins, Israel Adesanya or Dricus Du Plessis?

UFC champion Alex Pereira open to training with former foe Israel Adesanya: ‘I don’t feel like we’ll fight again’

Despite their long and storied rivalry, Alex Pereira would be happy to train with Israel Adesanya. The feud between…

Despite their long and storied rivalry, Alex Pereira would be happy to train with Israel Adesanya.

The feud between ‘Poatan’ and ‘The Last Stylebender’ stretches far beyond their time inside the Octagon. First meeting under the GLORY Kickboxing banner, Pereira scored back-to-back wins over the two-time middleweight champion, including a brutal third-round KO at Glory of Heroes 15 in March 2017.

Adesanya promptly moved on to MMA, earning a couple of first-round finishes on the Australian regional scene before making his UFC debut in 2018. Pereria would follow in his former foes’ footsteps, making his first Octagon appearance three years later.

Under the UFC banner, Pereira and Adesanya engaged in a memorable rivalry, splitting highlight-reel knockouts in their two meetings, though it was the ‘Stylebender’ who had the last laugh.

With Pereira sitting atop the light heavyweight throne and Adesanya eyeing a long-awaited clash with reigning middleweight king Dricus Du Plessis, their historic series appears to be over. Speaking with Ariel Helwani on Wednesday’s episode of The MMA Hour, ‘Poatan’ looked back on his time competing with Adesanya and even opened the door to the two fighters potentially work with one another in the gym.

“Anything can happen, but at this point, I think that it’s over even to a point that we could both train together if it comes down to that,” Pereira said through a translator. “If that ever happens, Israel is a very experienced guy. I am a very experienced guy. We have similar styles of high-level striking, but we have different aspects of the game that one could add to the other. But if it comes down to us fighting, it will be good, but it’s not something I’m holding onto anymore.”

He added, “I don’t feel like we’ll fight again. If I somehow felt that we were going to fight again, then no. But if I could be absolutely sure that we would never face each other in the Octagon again, why not?”

Alex Pereira already trains with another former opponent

It wouldn’t be the first time Alex Pereira has teamed up with a former opponent. After scoring a first-round knockout against Sean Strickland at UFC 276, ‘Poatan’ welcomed the opportunity to train with ‘Tarzan’ ahead of Strickland’s own title opportunity against Adesanya.

“Sean Strickland for example is a good friend now,” Pereira noted. “Once it’s over in the ring, you’ve got to let it go because you can add [something] to your game.

Immediately following Saturday’s UFC 298 pay-per-view in Anaheim, Dana White revealed that Alex Pereira will headline UFC 300, putting his 205-pound crown on the line against former titleholder Jamahal Hill. It will be Pereira’s first defense of the belt following his UFC 295 victory over Jiri Prochazka in November.