Former two-division UFC champion Alex Pereira paid homage to Israel Adesanya after his former rival’s UFC Hall of Fame induction.
Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and mainstay Kelvin Gastelum treated fight fans to one of the wildest brawls in MMA history at UFC 236. Six years later, Adesanya and Gastelum were inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s ‘Fight Wing’ for their legendary showdown.
Adesanya defeated Gastelum by unanimous decision for the then-interim UFC middleweight championship at UFC 236. It was a wild slugfest from start-to-finish, featuring one of the few times Adesanya was knocked down in his career at the hands of Gastelum.
Adesanya’s victory kicked off a run to UFC superstardom that is still active today. While Gastelum has fallen short of earlier lofty expectations, his showdown with Adesanya will live in the UFC recordbooks.
Alex Pereira reacts to Israel Adesanya’s UFC Hall of Fame induction with classy message
Adesanya has had several notable rivalries during his combat sports career, including his showdowns with Alex Pereira in MMA and kickboxing. After two fights in GLORY, Adesanya and Pereira would eventually meet twice in the UFC Octagon as they both made the full-time transitions to MMA.
Adesanya was minutes away from handing Pereira a likely decision loss at UFC 281 to defend his UFC middleweight title, before Pereira earned a late TKO finish at Madison Square Garden. Adesanya got his revenge just months later at UFC 287, defeating Pereira by second-round knockout.
While Adesanya and Pereira had one of the most heated rivalries in UFC history, they’ve since turned the page on their previous feud, and have expressed mutual respect for one another. After Adesanya’s UFC Hall of Fame induction, it didn’t take long for Pereira to speak on his former rival’s prestigious honor.
In a recent Instagram post, Pereira congratulated his two-time UFC rival on his UFC Hall of Fame induction.
“This is sport!” Pereira posted.
Pereira and Adesanya sat cageside to watch UFC 312 earlier this year, featuring a showdown between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland. The two exchanged pleasantries cageside in an interaction that captured the attention of fight fans around the world.
After their two middleweight bouts, Pereira moved to the light heavyweight division and will look to reclaim the 205 lb throne in his next potential appearance.
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira 2 remains in flux after recent social media banter
Pereira lost the UFC light heavyweight title to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 earlier this year. The loss ended a record-breaking light heavyweight title reign, featuring four successful light heavyweight title fight wins in less than a year.
Despite Pereira and Ankalaev verbally agreeing on an immediate rematch after UFC 313, fight talks have since stalled, and Ankalaev has expressed a desire to move on from the former titleholder. Pereira has since assured fans that he’s plotting a return to the Octagon soon as he enjoys some much-needed rest and downtime.
An announcement for an Ankalaev vs. Pereira rematch could be made in the coming weeks. In the meantime, Pereira is plotting his revenge in hopes of recapturing the light heavyweight title.
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