Video: Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira Have Humorous Encounter at Airport

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira put their rivalry on hold to share a few laughs when they recently crossed paths at the airport.

Both fighters were in Melbourne, Australia this past week. Adesanya trained with the New Zealand Warriors rugby team, while Pereira visited the Melbourne Storm. Adesanya and Pereira were also in attendance for the boxing match between Joseph Parker and Faiga Opelu.

Though they didn’t meet during that time, they did end up at the airport at the same time. In Pereira’s video, Adesanya jokingly hides his face when the camera finds him, while Pereira flexes in the distance in the version filmed by the “The Last Stylebender.”

Guess who I met at the airport ? 👀 pic.twitter.com/c2xr4MAVUs

— Alex "Poatan" Pereira (@AlexPereiraUFC) May 29, 2023

💘💘💘❤️‍🔥
My life is a video game 🎮 pic.twitter.com/MoIdUniTJv

— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) May 29, 2023

Adesanya and Pereira have squared off on four occasions in combat sports. Pereira bested the City Kickboxing representative twice in professional kickboxing bouts before transitioning to MMA, where he upset Adesanya to claim middleweight gold at UFC 281. Adesanya got the last laugh, however, when he knocked out “Poatan” in the second round of their MMA rematch at UFC 287 this past April.

A potential third meeting in the Octagon is on hold for the time being, however, as Pereira is slated to face Jan Blachowicz in his 205-pound debut at UFC 291 on July 29. Adesanya, meanwhile, is expected to face the winner of the UFC 290 encounter between Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis for his next middleweight title defense.