Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya’s rivalry stands unmatched in the landscape of combat sports. Their history in MMA has been tumultuous, with both fighters claiming victories. However, in kickboxing, Pereira is 2-0 against Adesanya.
“The Last Stylebender” is presently on a lay-off after he lost his middleweight title to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. Pereira on the other hand is headlining UFC 295 against Jiri Prochazka for the vacant light heavyweight title.
Alex Pereira hints rematch with Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya uploaded a clip from his boxing past, and Alex Pereira quickly responded with his own video. Adesanya’s clip highlighted the unfair decision that resulted in Francis Ngannou losing to Tyson Fury in the event billed as “The Battle of the Baddest.”
Pereira hinted about a potential rematch with Adesanya with a cryptic Instagram video post. The post by Pereira was captioned “Maybe I’ll do a boxing fight in 2027” and the video was that of a video game showing Pereira boxing. This challenge may be surprising given the fact that Adesanya’s intense disinterest in boxing.
Adesanya has been vocal about having faced injustices in the kickboxing world and is reluctant to step back into the ring. Yet, Pereira’s challenge has ignited interest among fans and experts alike. Adesanya along with fellow African-origin fighter, Kamaru Usman was with Francis Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
For the immediate future, Pereira’s focus lies solely on Jiri Prochazka, who vacated the title last year due to a shoulder injury. Interestingly, Prochazka would see a familiar foe in the corner of Alex Pereira as Glover Teixeira will be there as the head coach for the Brazilian fighter.
Alex Pereira teases to go back to being a boxer
The combat sports world is abuzz as Alex Pereira, the former UFC middleweight champion and the former two-division GLORY kickboxing champion teased a potential return to boxing. This is just a speculation due to his latest Instagram video post.
israel adesanya posts his boxing highlights.
— Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) October 30, 2023
alex pereira then posts his boxing highlights with this caption.
🤣🗿 pic.twitter.com/EhYCgsU88d
In between making a name for himself in kickboxing and later in the UFC, Alex Pereira fought a single professional boxing match. He knocked out his opponent in that bout. Though his time in boxing was brief compared to his other endeavors, it was worth remembering as he easily knocked out his opponent.
‘Poatan’ might have posted the video on Instagram to just set up a potential trilogy fight with The Last Stylebender. Currently, they are 1-1 in MMA, but Pereira leads 2-0 in kickboxing. Periera in the past has hinted at going back to middleweight to reclaim the title after winning the light heavyweight title.
The chances of Pereira boxing in the future are fairly good but fighting Adesanya in a boxing ring is negligible. However, it remains to be seen whether both would lock horns to compete in the ‘sweet science’ after their storied rivalry in kickboxing and MMA.
Who do you think will win a boxing bout between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira? Do comment below!
