Israel Adesanya defeated Alex Pereira in their UFC middleweight championship rematch, marking their fourth combat sports meeting and evening the score to 3-1 in favor of Pereira.
Israel Adesanya has a knack for holding onto memories, regardless of who you are. The UFC 287 main event marked the fourth combat sports encounter between Adesanya and Alex Pereira, with Pereira up 3-0 in the series before Adesanya triumphed over him through a second-round knockout in their UFC middleweight championship rematch. Pereira had previously defeated Adesanya at UFC 281 in November and bested him twice in the kickboxing ring before their rivalry resumed in the octagon.
The inspiration for Adesanya’s post-fight celebration on Saturday came from their second kickboxing bout. After leaving Pereira sprawled on the floor, Adesanya first imitated the Brazilian star’s renowned archery skills before sauntering to one side of the cage where he theatrically flopped to the mat. At the evening’s post-fight press conference, Adesanya explained he was merely repaying the favor to Pereira’s son, who had ridiculed him in a similar way after Pereira knocked Adesanya out in March 2017.
Adesanya has a history of pre- and post-fight theatrics. He is well-known for his dramatic entrances, which featured a choreographed group dance at UFC 243 and an homage to WWE legend The Undertaker at UFC 276. At UFC 253, he celebrated his knockout of Paulo Costa by pretending to hump him after their match. Adesanya, a fan of anime, was lightheartedly reminded that Pereira’s son may one day seek to avenge his father in the style of a classic martial arts story, to which Adesanya jokingly replied, “If you can crawl, we can brawl.”