Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya congratulated his longtime rival for winning a second UFC title, but also found humor in Alex Pereira bringing up his name during his post-fight interview.
At UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden in New York, Pereira became champion of the light heavyweight division by stopping Jiri Prochazka with vicious punches and elbows in the second round. Pereira, who has now won UFC titles in the 185-pound and 205-pound divisions, used a portion of his in-cage post-fight interview to send a message to his rival Adesanya.
Pereira recalled an old interview from Adesanya in which the former middleweight champ stated that Pereira would be drinking in a bar somewhere, living off the memory of his kickboxing victories, while he was still actively having success in combat sports. “Poatan” credited Adesanya’s words for motivating him to become a better fighter, and ultimately a UFC champion. He encouraged Adesanya to not “waste his talent” by taking extended time away from the sport.
Pereira said in English, “Adesanya, come to daddy.”
Pereira and Adesanya have fought four times across kickboxing and MMA. Pereira won both kickboxing bouts, but they each have a stoppage win in the UFC’s octagon. In their last fight at UFC 287, Adesanya violently knocked out Pereira in the second round.
“The fact that it sits with him,” Adesanya said in a video on his YouTube channel. “It hurts his spirit, I like it. But he did it. Same arena, getting that belt again, yeah. I think Jamahal Hill is probably next for him, but I know for a fact it hurts his spirit, which I like.”
Pereira recorded a standing TKO victory over Adesanya to become the middleweight champion at UFC 281, which also took place at MSG. In the video, Adesanya said that Pereira claiming his second title in the same building made for a good story.
However, Adesanya found humor in his name being mentioned during the post-fight interview. After all, if they never meet again for a fifth fight, Adesanya got the last laugh in their rivalry.
“What did he say? Come to daddy? Last time I checked, you were f*cking slept.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.
