Alex Pereira Calls Israel Adesanya’s Self-Imposed Hiatus ‘A Waste of Talent’

Alex Pereira believes he has what it takes to motivate Israel Adesanya.

After claiming the vacant light heavyweight title with a second-round stoppage of Jiri Prochazka in the UFC 295 headliner, “Poatan” called for his longtime rival to meet him at 205 pounds.

“I know that I’m not going to do what he did to me and make me fight three times to fight him at middleweight,” Pereira said in the Octagon. “I know it’s a guy we have a lot of history. I want to make this fight happen. Adesanya, come to daddy.”

Adesanya last appeared at UFC 293, where he relinquished the middleweight crown in a surprising unanimous decision loss to Sean Strickland. Not long after, “The Last Stylebender” hinted that he might take an extended break from MMA. Pereira’s callout didn’t seem to have much of an effect on the City Kickboxing stalwart, as he simply responded by trolling his rival on social media.

Let it gooooo 🎶 pic.twitter.com/gv9ZYliKwH

— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) November 12, 2023

Pereira was undeterred despite that response.

“Regardless of what he said, I was respectful, and I mean what I said,” Pereira said through a translator at the UFC 295 post-fight press conference. “I’ll give him a chance. He doesn’t seem motivated, and I think that’s a fight everybody would like to see, so I try to push him to come back.”

Pereira and Adesanya have an extensive history in combat sports. The Brazilian bested Adesanya twice in kickboxing before making a move to MMA, where he claimed the middleweight belt with a fifth-round TKO victory over the Nigerian-born Kiwi at UFC 291. Adesanya avenged that defeated in their most recent meeting, stopping Pereira via second-round KO at UFC 287 this past March. “Poatan” has since made the move to 205 pounds.

“I meant what I said over there,” Pereira said. “I think I owe this to Adesanya. He motivated me first, and the whole thing with him staying out all this time until 2027, I think it’s a waste of talent. I think I can bring him back.”