Israel Adesanya likes to win, no matter who he’s up against.
The UFC 287 main event was the fourth time he’d fight Alex Pereira. Before their match, Alex won 3 of the previous fights between them. But this time, Israel knocked out Alex in the second round and won! Before they fought in the cage, Alex beat Israel twice while they were kickboxing.
When Adesanya fought Pereira in their second bout, he did a post-fight celebration. First, he imitated the Brazilian’s Archery skills and then walked to one side of the cage where he pretended to fall on the mat.
At the evening’s press conference, Adesanya said that he was repaying the favor to Pereira’s son who had made fun of him after Pereira knocked him out in 2017 March.
See how Alex Pereira and his son reacted after the fight? Check it out here: #UFC287 pic.twitter.com/KDgLLUwszq ~ — Razor (@BlacklistRazor1) April 9, 2023
Through this experience, Alex’s son was able to learn an important lesson!
Adesanya said,”I’m not gonna forget what happened. The first time he knocked me out in Brazil, his son came into the ring and he just lay there next to me. I thought ‘if your dad isn’t going to do it, then I’ll whoop your butt’. I looked for his kid and was like ‘Hey! Don’t forget it’ as a reminder.”
I saw Pereira backstage and we were friendly. He’s a great champion – like a warrior – and has gone through many tough parts in his life to get where he is today. Taking me out was an amazing success for him, but tonight it’s all about my story which will go down in history.
Adesanya is known for his spectacular entrances and post-fight celebrations. At UFC 243, he had a group of people join him in a choreographed dance, and then at UFC 276, he did an homage to The Undertaker. Then at UFC 253, after knocking out Paulo Costa, he celebrated by pretending to “hump” him!
Adesanya, who loves anime, was playfully teased that Pereira’s son might one day get revenge for his father, like in a classic martial arts movie. Adesanya joked back saying “If you can crawl, we can brawl”. Belal Muhammad, who was there at UFC 287 event in Miami, shared another view of Adesanya’s celebrating afterwards.
Belal Muhammad tweeted that his dad got back at someone in an amazing way! The tweet was shared on April 9, 2023.