Israel Adesanya has claimed that one off-handed comment ‘created a monster’ within the UFC’s most frightening champion.
Back in 2018, Adesanya mocked his old kickboxing rival Alex Pereira, who on the time was starting to forge a path in MMA. Twice of their ring days the Brazilian had defeated his Nigerian nemesis, including one vicious knockout.
And inside years, he was on one among the fastest ascents to UFC gold in recent memory as he dethroned Adesanya for the middleweight title in what was his first ever loss at 185lb within the cage. It led to a rematch in 2023, which saw the previous champion return to the summit of the division with a knockout of his own.
Israel Adesanya mocked Alex Pereira as ‘guy in a bar’ before reigniting rivalry
Within the 12 months 2018, Israel Adesanya was one among the fastest-rising stars within the UFC and was only a 12 months away from winning the middleweight title. From there, he would go on a record-breaking run with the belt, which might only be stopped by one man.
Within the meantime, his old kickboxing rival Pereira was still juggling the 2 sports, holding a 2-1 skilled record within the cage. He had been submitted in his debut, but moved on to win twice when he returned.
Speaking with Sporting News Australia, Adesanya said of Pereira: “He watches all my fights, and each time I fight, like clockwork, he’d attempt to put something out like, ‘I beat this guy.’
“At the tip of the day, nobody knows who the f*** he’s, and he’s going to be that guy after I’m world champion, after I’m a legend, he’s going to be at some pub talking s*** about, ‘I beat that guy one time.’”
Israel Adesanya claims he motivated Alex Pereira to turn out to be UFC legend
The assumption is that the interview pushed Pereira to make his move into the UFC octagon. He sprinted through contention right into a world title fight, and has since moved as much as light-heavyweight where he has worn out the division in next to no time.
And Adesanya believes he’s the person who made the double champion make the large push, telling fans on YouTube that he doesn’t feel bad about making the comment regarding a man in a pub. “I don’t regret it because I used to be right,” he explained.
“Also I don’t since it motivated him. I really like this f***ing story, eh? It’s just the very best. He’s actually at a bar drinking, and he’s like ‘ohh Chama’, he was already an MMA fighter but he decides to take it seriously. Then he gets to the UFC to fight me and chase me.
“So I don’t regret it, no. I’m glad I did since it motivated him and look what we’ve created. I created a monster.”
