UFC Light heavyweight king Alex Pereira surprisingly picked his arch-rival Israel Adesanya to reclaim the middleweight championship from Dricus Du Plessis.
The highly anticipated clash between the two African powerhouses goes down on August 17th in Australia, with Adesanya aiming for his second reign as middleweight champ.
Adesanya’s most recent fight ended in a disappointing loss to Sean Strickland in September 2023, costing him the belt. After taking a break to recover mentally and emotionally, the Nigerian fighter returns to face the heavy-handed South African, Du Plessis.
This matchup has fans buzzing due to the animosity between the fighters, who’ve both vowed to knock each other out come fight night.
Despite their rivalry, and Adesanya’s past prediction of Pereira’s defeat, the Brazilian champion remains confident in Adesanya’s ability to win back the middleweight title.
“They asked me about Adesanya and Du Plessis, I told them I don’t see Adesanya losing. Just because he said that about me (that Pereira would lose to Jiri Procházka), doesn’t mean I’ll say it back,” said Pereira, referring to his own loss to Adesanya.
“It is what I think, I don’t think he loses the fight. I hope he wins because he has a beautiful story. I think he has to continue his story, he’s not a young guy anymore. He spoke a little about wanting to retire, I think he has that in mind.
“I think he should continue his plans, I don’t think he is finished because he would have stopped but if he is still here, he still has a dream and still wants to give to the sport.”
Beyond backing Adesanya, Pereira even expressed openness to training and learning from the Nigerian-born New Zealander in the future.
“I’m here supporting him, I already fought him, I’m not saying he should lose. I am not mad at him, I hold no grudges against him. Like I said, if one day it is possible to train with him (Adesanya), exchanging knowledge. Behind the scenes, we hear a lot of things about Adesanya, a lot of people talk about him ‘he is this, he is bad’ and what not. The people who truly know him that I have contacted, talk well about him. That he has a good heart. A lot of the time, it’s just marketing.”
