Brazilian Alex Pereira wants to train Nigerian-born Israel Adesanya if they won't have a trilogy.
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One of the most legendary rivalries in modern MMA history has been between Pereira and Adesanya, with the Brazilian following the Nigerian-New Zealander to the sport after defeating him twice in kickboxing.
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In November 2022, Poatan maintained his winning streak against "The Last Stylebender" at UFC 281, where he defeated Adesanya with a late finish in the main event pay-per-view.
However, five months later, Adesanya brutally got his revenge, knocking out Pereira in Miami and winning KO of the Year for 2023 on MMA News.
Alex Pereira wants to train with Israel Adesanya
After winning in two divisions at UFC 295 and moving up to light heavyweight, the Brazilian called for Adesanya to face him in a trilogy at 205 pounds, even though it seemed their series would end at 1-1.
However, "Poatan" isn't optimistic that another fight works out because most of the conversation about Adesanya's future has focused on middleweight.
And in light of that, he wants to interact with his opponent differently.
A few months ago, Pereira spoke on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani and discussed the possibility of a trilogy fight between himself and Adesanya.
However, Pereira's callout seemed to go unanswered and his priorities have shifted.
The light heavyweight champion indicated an interest in studying his opponent instead of focusing on himself after acknowledging that he could imagine the two of them going through different stages of their careers before they cross paths again inside the Octagon.
With Adesanya's assistance, Pereira might hone his exceptional striking abilities even further, which would be dangerous for the other fighters in the light heavyweight class.
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