Israel Adesanya reacts to Alex Pereira's UFC Freedom 250 loss

Israel Adesanya watched his former rival fall short of history at UFC Freedom 250 and had nothing but respect to offer.

Alex Pereira's bid to become a three-division UFC champion ended Sunday night when Ciryl Gane stopped him in the second round to claim the interim heavyweight title at the White House in Washington, D.C. Adesanya, who fought on the same card, told reporters afterward that the loss did not diminish what Pereira had attempted. "Ciryl is no slouch, but f*ck," he said, per MMA Mania. "Dare to be great, [Pereira] is a one-of-one. He's a great. You can't fault him."

From bitter rivals to mutual respect

The response marks how far the relationship between the two former middleweights has traveled. Pereira beat Adesanya twice in kickboxing, followed him to the UFC, knocked him out to take the middleweight belt, then lost it back to Adesanya at UFC 287 in what closed one of the sport's most intense modern rivalries. Somewhere in the years since, the animosity faded.

Adesanya knows the cost of chasing two belts. He moved up to heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight in 2021 and lost a decision to Jan Blachowicz after being controlled on the mat. That makes his reaction to Pereira's attempt at heavyweight less surprising — he understands the stakes and the courage it takes to risk legacy for a shot at more.

Pereira remains the light heavyweight champion. No immediate plans for his next defense have been announced.

Reported via:

• MMA Mania — Video: Israel Adesanya reacts to Alex Pereira losing at UFC Freedom 250 – ‘Dare to be great’