Nigerian mixed martial artiste, Israel Adesanya, has revealed his chat with his rival, Alex Pereira following his defeat.
After losing to the Brazilian by knockout in the UFC 281 main event, the “Style bender” revealed specifics of his chat with Pereira.
Adesanya, who led on all three judges’ scorecards going into the final round, lost for the first time in his UFC career at 185 pounds after Pereira landed with his signature left hook and then launched a barrage of punches that forced referee Marc Goddard to call time on the fight.
Victory for the 35-year-old makes it the third time in as many fights that Pereira has prevailed, having previously defeated Adesanya in kickboxing.
Adesanya recognised and clarified that while there was no love lost in the build-up to their trilogy match, the competitors did exchange a moment of respect inside the Octagon at Madison Square Garden.
Adesanya, while speaking to MMA hour said, ” told him after the fight, when I took a bow to the crowd, he came up to me and said, ‘Hey, hey… respect, respect.’ And I was like, ‘I don’t like you, you don’t like me, but respect.’ And we shook hands. Energies don’t mix and that’s okay. This is war. So war still wages on.”
Since giving up kickboxing and switching to participating in mixed martial arts full-time in 2017, the outcome represents Adesanya’s second loss.
“I’ll still fight him. If he was going to fight someone else and lose the belt, I’ll still fight him [next]. I’ll fight him. I hope he’s the champion, but I’m just saying, hypothetically, I’ll still fight him.” he added.
“I’m crazy, bro. I can beat him. I know I can beat him. You’ve seen I can beat him. He just I won’t say luck, f*** luck he just invested well. A good game plan.” said the UFC fighter
