Alex Pereira Promises Thriller Against Israel Adesanya After Champ’s Lackluster UFC 276 Fight: “Give A Better Show To The Crowd”
Alex Pereira was not a fan of Israel Adesanya‘s performance at UFC 276.
This past Saturday, Israel Adesanya added another title defense to his record after handily defeating Jared Cannonier by a unanimous decision. Although Adesanya came out of the contest unscathed, he faced criticism from fans for a lackluster showing that had the audience heading for the exit doors midway through the main event.
Alex Pereira assures an exciting match against Israel Adesanya
During the post-fight octagon interview, ‘Stylebender’ wasted no time in setting up a match with ‘Poatan’ as he called out his former foe with a Disney family musical reference.
Having beaten him twice in kickboxing, Pereira has been keen to get his shot at Adesanya in MMA. He’s the only man to have knocked out the reigning UFC Middleweight champion and assures a more exciting outing than Adesanya’s last defense.
“He did his part, but it was a fight that not only didn’t excite me but it also did not excite the crowd,” Pereira said via a Portuguese translator at the evening’s post-fight press conference when asked to comment on the main event. “I was very sad to see that, so I hope when we fight he does a better fight than that. But for sure, I’m going to make him fight to give a better show to the crowd.” (ht MMA Fighting)
‘Poatan’ is ready to go when ‘Stylebender’ is ready
Former Glory two-division champion Pereira now has three wins under the UFC with two of them coming by way of knockout. He added another highlight to his reel on the same card as Adesanya when he knocked out Sean Strickland with his infamous deadly left hook.
Fans have been clamoring for Pereira to be pitted against Adesanya ever since he joined the promotion in November 2021. Now that he has a first-round finish of the fourth-ranked contender, ‘Poatan’ is ready to get his chance at the gold.
“Whenever he’s ready, I just finished my fight, I’m fine,” Pereira said. “So I could start training tomorrow. I’m going to take two weeks to enjoy my life a little bit, but whenever he thinks he’s ready to go, I’m good.”
He’s aware that some doubters exist due to his lack of experience in the sport but feels that he’s made a statement with his latest win.
“A lot of people talk, especially fighters, they think they have a chance over me, so it feels good to prove that because at the end of the day it’s what the people want,” Pereira said. “People want to see knockouts. People want to see the style that I fight. People want to see whoever is in front of me getting knocked out and that’s what I bring for them.”
