Pereira Supports Izzy’s Quest To Beat Du Plessis
Alex Pereira supports Israel Adesanya, who will take on Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305 on August 17.
The clash takes place at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. It is Izzy’s first fight since losing his UFC Middleweight Title against Sean Strickland at UFC 293. It was a massive blow after Adesanya had picked up the title by stopping Pereira at UFC 287. That was the perfect response after losing to Pereira in the fight at UFC 281. The UFC trilogy never happened as Pereira moved up to light heavyweight.
Meanwhile, Adesanya took some time off after losing to Strickland. Strickland would then lose his title to Du Plessis in a controversial split decision loss at UFC 297. Sean never got the rematch, as he faced Paulo Costa at UFC 302 and came out with a win. Now, Du Plessis will face Adesanya. Pereira is backing his former foe in this crucial clash.
Pereira Reacts
“I’m here, supporting him. I already fought him, not going to say he should lose. I’m not mad at him. No grudges. Like I said, if one day it’s possible to train with him, exchanging knowledge. Behind the scenes we hear a lot of things about Adesanya. A lot of people talk about him like, ‘He’s this, he’s bad’ and what not.
“The people who truly know him that I had contact with, talk good about him. Has a good heart. A lot of the times it’s just marketing. I believe that. I can see he is a good person. So that’s why I’m here, cheering for him. If he doesn’t cheer for me, that’s not my problem. But I’m here, cheering for him,” Pereira said
Unlike Pereira, Du Plessis does not have the best relationship with Izzy. He first stirred the feud when he stated he would be the first African to bring the belts back to the region. This was seen as a dig at Adesanya, who has African roots. Adesanya was born in Nigeria. However, he left the country to pursue other opportunities and currently lives in New Zealand.
Pereira On Izzy
Those comments did not sit well with Izzy, as the two hashed out the comments at the kickoff presser for the fight. During the face-off, they refused to back away until security separated them slowly. That has set the narrative for an explosive fight. While Pereira is unlikely to get the chance to avenge the Izzy loss, given that the Brazilian could move up to heavyweight, he had nothing but praise for Adesanya. Given that they have faced each other numerous times, Pereira has developed a good relationship with him.
“They asked me about Adesanya and Du Plessis – I said I don’t see Adesanya losing. Just because he said that about me, doesn’t mean I’ll say it back. It’s what I think. I don’t think he loses this fight. I hope he wins because he has a beautiful story. [And] I think he has to continue his story. He isn’t a young guy,” Pereira added
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