It’s nothing but respect between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya.
At UFC 312 this past weekend, both Pereira and Adesanya were in attendance, and the two found themselves sitting next to each other cageside. Given the long and tense history between them, that could have been an uncomfortable or fraught situation, but in actuality, it was nothing of the sort. Instead, Pereira and Adesanya, with the help of Pereira’s coach and translator Plinio Cruz, got on like old pals.
In a video released on his YouTube channel on Friday, Adesanya revealed some of the conversations he and Pereira had, starting with a respectful discussion about Adesanya’s recent loss to Nassourdine Imavov.
“I saw that you put in more volume than normal, attacked more than normal,” Pereira said through Cruz. “Was that the strategy or just because of the fight?”
“Strategy,” Adesanya replied. “It was working well. But when the eye poke [happened], I reset, so I came to close. I would never switch that close because if I switch that close, that’s what happens, and he knew what to do. ‘Oh, there he is! Whap!’ Good game. He got me well.”
“It’s part of the game, brother,” Cruz responded. “Everybody gets caught.”
“I said the same thing,” Adesanya agreed. “Look, we had a good fight. Fair game. Easy. And I let it go.”
The pair continued to talk about Adesanya’s previous matchup, diving into a few of the more technical details before pivoting to discuss other topics, including Pereira extending an invitation to spend time with him down in Brazil.
“We’ve got to take you to Brazil,” Pereira said through Cruz.
“Oh yeah, I will come,” Adesanya replied. “When I came, when we fought [in kickboxing in 2017], it was Carnival. It was [makes party gestures] everywhere.”
“We’ll go over there, we’ll train, hang out, good times,” Pereira added.
“After we fought, we went to the mountain and had barbecue,” Adesanya continued. “Some really good Brazilian barbecue. … We’ll go to Brazil. I also want to go where his people are. The tribes.”
“That’s close to Bahia,” Cruz explained. “It’s the north, so it’s super nice there. That tribe is on the shore is close to Bahia, but deep in the Amazon, the name is Xingu, it is the sanctuary, the biggest indigenous nation that has their meeting place in the Amazon. … Whenever we go, you’ll come with us, because we’ve still got to go there some time. That’s the place Anderson Silva was fighting the indigenous, on the sand.”
“Yeah, man. I’d love to.”
Though Pereira and Adesanya have a long history together — four fights over seven years across boxing and kickboxing — the two also have a history of making peace with former foes. Pereira is friends and occasional training partners with Sean Strickland, even serving as a cornerman for Strickland at UFC 312. Adesanya, meanwhile, recently spent time training with longtime rival Robert Whittaker.
It seems like the same may be happening between Adesanya and Pereira, as after the event, Pereira implored Adesanya to take him up on his offer.
“Let’s get together,” Pereira said through Cruz. “Let’s make this partnership happen. I have a lot to show you, and you have a lot to show me.”
And Adesanya seems up for it, speaking to his cameraman during his car ride home from the event.
“Whoever set that up, good job,” Adesanya said. “It made for good moments. I do look forward to — I think he’s genuine in his offer to get together and make the connect happen, so we’ll make it happen one day.”
