Alex Pereira reacts to Israel Adesanya mocking his son after UFC 287 loss: ‘I wouldn’t do the same’

Brazilian knockout artist, Alex Pereira has reacted to arch-rival, Israel Adesanya, taunting and mocking his son, Alessandro following his knockout loss at UFC 287 over the course of the weekend, claiming he would not have reacted the same if he was in a similar situation.

Pereira, who headlined the Saturday pay-per-view event under the promotion’s banner, suffered a thunderous second round KO loss to Nigerian-Kiwi striker, Adesanya in the pair’s championship rematch in Miami, Florida. 

Starting well against his rival, Sao Paulo striker, Pereira even managed to unload on Adesanya at the Octagon fence in the second round, slamming leg kicks and a body shot, paired with a knee strike, before he was countered with two right hands from Adesanya – sending him to the canvas in a devastating KO loss.

Following his title triumph, City Kickboxing staple, Adesanya pointed to the crowd in search of Alex Pereira’s teenage son, Alessandro – falling to the canvas himself, mocking the latter’s choice to taunt him off the back of his 2017 KO loss to his father under the GLORY Kickboxing banner.

Alex Pereira opens up on his UFC 287 loss

Sharing his thoughts on Adesanya’s celebration, taunting his child, Pereira claimed that he would not have that mindset to carry out a similar celebration.

“I don’t know, I wouldn’t do the same,” Alex Pereira said during a video on his YouTube channel. “I can play with him [Alessandro], I’ve always played with him – I teased him. It was something that happened, but I don’t know – it’s another child. I don’t know what his feeling was. I don’t know. It is seven years ago [since Adesanya’s KO loss]. He was enduring it and I saw his joy that he had after the knockout, you know. Because that was his dream – that was his dream and he made it but we’re comparing him with a child who was 5 years old at the time, right? I don’t have that mind.” 

“I can prove it because today he [Alessandro] is 12-years-old and before the fight, I saw that some reporters said, ‘You’re going to do this?’ [And Alessandro said] ‘I’m going to do it again’ and so on and he laughed, because he’s a kid, he thinks it’s funny. I did that, I knocked him out the night I won the belt and my kid was wanting to do the same thing up there. I said to him, ‘No. Stop – don’t do it, stay here and don’t do anything.’ I’m a conscious guy, and everything I’m saying here, really I’m saying and I wouldn’t do it.”

“I wouldn’t do it,” Alex Pereira explained. “If he did it, if he felt better that way, ok, it’s a relief. It’s a relief he had and if he thinks it’s better for him, ok. That won’t change anything for me.”

Touted to likely make a light heavyweight move in his Octagon return per UFC president, Dana White, Pereira said he would returned “stronger than ever” off the back of his stoppage loss to Adesanya.

“All the people who are following me since kickboxing, they know I am a hard worker and dedicated,” Alex Pereira explained. “I never quit. And the people who arrived now, you can think, how will this guy come back? Guys, I promise you, I’m going to come [back] firm and strong. I’m going to come [back] stronger than ever. You can write this down.”