If he cannot get another fight against Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira is open to the possibility of welcoming the rival as a training partner in the octagon.
Pereira has always been vocal about wanting another match against Adesanya in the future. After winning the light heavyweight belt at UFC 295, the fighter reiterated his callout to Adesanya, who was still on his layoff at that time. Pereira tried to lure the fighter out of his break, but the callouts received no positive response from “The Last Style Bender.”
Finally, after a series of repeated calls for a challenge, “Poatan” gave up his pursuit of a trilogy against the New Zealander. Of course, he is not entirely saying “no” to the possibility of meeting Adesanya again inside the cage. Yet, according to Pereira, in case that fight is really not happening, he would like to change their relationship to fellow trainers.
In his recent interview on The MMA Hour, the light heavyweight champ explained that both of their experiences could help each other in their respective MMA paths.
“(I) feel that it’s over, but anything can happen. If he (Adesanya) shows interest and the organization shows interest, (I) will do that fight. But at this point… (I) think it’s over,” Pereira said via a translator. “Even to a point (I) think (we) could both train together, if it comes down to that. (I) feel that if that ever happened, Israel is a very experienced guy, (I’m) a very experienced guy… similar styles of high-level striking, different aspects of the game that one could add to the other.”
Pereira is currently booked to defend his belt against its previous owner, Jamahal Hill, in the main event of UFC 300 on April 13. Meanwhile, Adesanya, who is now back in training, remains free but is in a mutual agreement with middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis for a future fight. With their path now completely separated, Pereira said that he is entirely certain of the suggestion to train with Adesanya.
“If it comes down to a fight, that would be good, but it’s not something (I’m) holding on to anymore,” Pereira added. “100 percent (I would train with him). Just because (I) don’t feel (we’ll) fight no more… If (I) can be absolutely sure that (we) will never face each other in the Octagon again, why not?”
