Alex Pereira, who won the UFC light heavyweight title with a second-round KO of Jiri Prochaska in November, will defer to his longtime rival to decide on a potential trilogy bout with Israel Adesanya. became. The two have a history of fighting four times in mixed martial arts, with Pereira splitting their two bouts inside the UFC Octagon after defeating Adesanya in kickboxing.
Pereira originally called for a trilogy bout shortly after winning the light heavyweight title, but Adesanya is currently on a self-imposed hiatus from fighting. Speaking at a recent Q&A hosted by Ares FC in France, Pereira stated that Adesanya is willing to move on if he chooses to sit out.
“After winning the title, I called him out in the cage and wanted to give him a chance, but I could see that he had no respect for me about this. He laughed about it. , was joking. So for me, it doesn’t matter anymore. I gave him a chance. If he shows up, great. If he doesn’t, it doesn’t matter.” Pereira said through a Portuguese interpreter.
Adesanya previously expressed interest in fighting Pereira at 205 pounds if Pereira wins the light heavyweight title. However, since Pereira’s win, Adesanya has shown no interest in changing divisions again.
Pereira expressed doubts about Adesanya’s motives for facing him again, saying: “Seriously, I doubt he really wants to fight me because he beat me once. It was his dream to beat me and he achieved that. So Now that he’s in this cage again with me, he knows that anything can happen and he knows that he could lose again, so he can I really doubt you have the will to fight me.”
Looking ahead to his first title defense, Pereira has several opponents on the list, including former champion Jamahal Hill, Khalil Rountree and the winner of the Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic bout. Pereira is ready to fight anywhere, but returning to Brazil will be a special experience where he can show off his roots.
“I like to fight. For me, the location doesn’t matter, I just like to fight. It doesn’t matter to me whether they put me in America or in Brazil. But for sure, If I end up fighting in Brazil, that would be great because I could show people where I come from and that you can live this experience and what you can do in life if you work hard. Because they can see and feel what they can achieve. I’m happy to be able to show them this close, but I’m going to fight wherever they put me and it’s not my decision, so I I just want to fight.”
Pereira said a potential move to heavyweight is not in the plans at this time. However, he admitted that if his body indicated a need for change, he would consider it in the future.
59
/ 100