UFC middleweight prospect Alex Pereira believes Israel Adesanya is shying away from a third fight.
Pereira and current 185-pound king Adesanya have already fought twice in kickboxing, with the Brazilian winning both encounters.
'Poatan' outpointed Adesanya in 2016 and left him needing oxygen whilst unconscious on the floor after knocking him out in their rematch the following year.
After being signed to the UFC last September, Pereira won his promotional debut in stunning fashion by knocking out Andreas Michailidis with a flying knee at UFC 268.
And Pereira thinks Adesanya has been worried about a potential trilogy ever since he was signed to the promotion.
“Honestly, the moment that he found out that I signed here, I believe he’s already been worrying about (a third fight),” Pereira told reporters. "He knows of my potential and he knows how far I can get.”
Adesanya defended his middleweight title for the fourth time by outpointing Robert Whittaker in their rematch at UFC 271 last month.
'The Last Stylebender' has welcomed a third fight with Pereira, but said the Brazilian needs to establish himself as a top middleweight contender first.
And Pereira thinks Adesanya's comments show he is anxious about losing to him for the third time.
“F***, man, that’s what you do if you’re anxious to fight [someone]. ‘Oh, I can’t wait to fight Alex, but I’ll fight him [after] 15 fights.’ F***, How is he anxious to do it? What does he want?," he told Trocacao Franca.
"Look, I’ll tell you this — it’s harder for me to get to him than beating him. He knows that. He knows how I beat him. He fought me twice. He won’t admit how difficult I am. He’s not anxious to fight me.
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"He wants me to slip tomorrow so he can say, ‘Is this the guy you want me to fight? Are you crazy? Go back to the end of the line.’ He’ll run from me.
“Someone crazy for a fight will say, ‘I want this guy, I want to prove I’m better than him. He’s fooling his fan base. People should pressure him.
"The least he could do is say, ‘F***, I’ll show my fans that I’m the best and that’s why they follow me,’ but that’s not what he’s doing. He’s scared s***. Like Glover [Teixeira] says, he’s scared s***.”
Pereira will look to pick up another stoppage win at a Fight Night event this Saturday when he takes on Bruno Silva.
The 34-year-old said 15 other opponents turned down fights with him before his countryman Silva accepted the bout.
