Israel Adesanya will defend his UFC middleweight title against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 this weekend. However, his old rival Alex Pereira’s arrival in the UFC is starting to overshadow Adesanya’s title defense, with their long-standing rivalry coming up several times at the pre-fight press conference.
Israel Adesanya’s kickboxing career ended with two losses to Alex Pereira, the second being a vicious knockout. Adesanya, who is undefeated in MMA at middleweight, acknowledged that the narrative of an old rival returning to the fray is an exciting one, but that Pereira hasn’t quite earned a shot at the champ just yet.
Adesanya: Alex Pereira Hasn’t Earned a Title Shot
“Earned? I don’t think he’s earned it, to be honest. I like it though. I like the tailor-made matchups though, because it makes a bigger story, and guess what? A bigger, bigger paycheck for myself when we fight. So, deserve? I don’t know. Earned? Definitely not. But he’s here and I like it and I want it.”
Adesanya went on to describe Alex Pereira as “riding on his coattails”, relying on the champ’s celebrity and profile within the MMA world to further his career.
“Coattails, because the guy’s supposedly beat me in kickboxing and he’s still trying to chase me because I’m the one winning in life. And I like that story. It’s the story we’re telling ourselves. The arc in the story is going to be beautiful if he gets past Sean Strickland.
I said Jiri [Prochazka] light heavyweight champ, three fights in the UFC but an extensive record in MMA. This guy’s only had like four or five fights, something crazy. But you know what they’re doing, but I like that because I get to take him out early, before — he’s going to get good. But not right now.” Adesanya also clapped back at an earlier jab of Pereira’s relating to the lighter gloves worn in MMA.
“Imagine what I can do with four-ounce gloves. I did the same thing to him in the second fight … I f***** this guy up in the first fight. Not crazy, but the judges gave it to him. In the second fight, I had him on skates and I made a judgment call, an error on my part, and it was a beautiful story for him, because in his backyard, down two rounds, in the third round he come and knocks me out. That’s a beautiful story for him.
Go back to UFC 92. Wanderlei Silva vs. Rampage Jackson. That’s a clear example of how I see this going the third time. He who laughs last, laughs best, and I’m going to have the last laugh.”
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