Despite their long and tense history, Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya shared a respectful and friendly interaction at UFC 312, discussing past fights and expressing interest in spending time together in Brazil.
It’s all respect between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya.
At UFC 312, both fighters found themselves sitting side by side. Given their history, you’d think it might be awkward. But nope, they got along like old friends, thanks to Pereira’s coach and translator, Plinio Cruz.
Adesanya shared some of their chats in a video on his YouTube channel. They started with a respectful talk about Adesanya’s recent loss to Nassourdine Imavov.
“I noticed you put in more volume than usual,” Pereira said via Cruz. “Was that the plan or just how the fight played out?”
“Strategy,” Adesanya replied. “Things were going well until the eye poke. I got too close, and he capitalized on it. Good game on his part.”
“Part of the game,” Cruz responded. “Everyone gets caught now and then.”
“Exactly,” Adesanya agreed. “It was a fair fight, no hard feelings. I’ve moved on.”
Their conversation shifted to other topics, including an invite from Pereira for Adesanya to visit Brazil.
“You gotta come to Brazil,” Pereira suggested through Cruz.
“Absolutely, I’d love to,” Adesanya replied. “Last time I was there for Carnival—what a party!”
“We’ll train, hang out, have a good time,” Pereira added.
Adesanya reminisced about post-fight barbecues and expressed interest in visiting indigenous tribes.
Cruz explained, “That’s near Bahia. The Xingu tribe is deep in the Amazon, an amazing place. We should go together sometime.”
“I’d love that,” Adesanya said.
Despite their long rivalry—four fights over seven years—they’ve both made peace with past opponents before. Pereira even cornered for Sean Strickland at UFC 312, while Adesanya trained with Robert Whittaker recently.
It looks like Adesanya and Pereira are heading in the same direction. After the event, Pereira encouraged Adesanya to take him up on his offer.
“Let’s make this partnership happen,” Pereira said through Cruz. “We can learn a lot from each other.”
Adesanya seemed keen during his car ride home from the event.
“Whoever set that up did a great job,” he said. “I think he’s sincere about connecting, so we’ll make it happen someday.”