After Joe Rogan’s Concern, Israel Adesanya Told to Thank the Referee & “Stop” With Excuses by MW Champion Alex Pereira

Alex Pereira debuted in the UFC last year. He has fought 4 times so far and is already a middleweight champion, beating Israel Adesanya. As a matter of fact, Poatan has won all four fights in the UFC. But it was his victory over The Last Stylebender that truly earned him recognition amongst the UFC community and its fans around the world. However, the heat between the two hasn’t settled yet. The Poatan has hit back at Stylebender over his claims of “early stoppage.”

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira‘s fight amounted to nothing less than a full-blown battle. Among many other topics, the stoppage of the fight has generated the greatest debate. Fans have divided opinions over it. Joe Rogan, who was the commentator for UFC 281 said Israel was ‘stationary’ in the last round. He stated, “Izzy was stationary and Pereira was gonna hit him with some big shots.” Rogan further agreed that the stoppage was valid since continuing would have been detrimental to Adesanya. “We don’t need to see Izzy with his eyes rolled-back behind his head, flat out unconscious. I think it was a good stoppage.”

Wherein, The Stylebender feels, he could have still continued. 

Israel Adesanya called out by Alex Pereira

Adesanya and Pereira have a long history that dates back all the way to 2016. Both have fought twice in kickboxing and their recent UFC fight was their third time going. Pereira conquered Adesanya all three times. But with the title fight, the Stylebender claimed that if the fight wasn’t stopped, he could have continued fighting the Poatan. This comment didn’t sit well with Pereira and he called out Adesanya in his latest Instagram post and asked him to “stop making excuses”.

Pereira wrote, “Adesanya stop making excuses saying that the referee stopped the fight early… you have to thank him for saving your life. The way you were with your head down looking at the ground, I only needed one or two more hits to connect a good knee to your face so we wouldn’t know the outcome.”

Even so, the Poatan did show his respect to the Stylebender as he continued, “As I said at that point in the video, you were a great opponent and I respect you for that. Assume the mistakes along with your team without taking away my merits. You will have one more chance! You’re next!”

Read more: Israel Adesanya Contemplates ‘Life’ After He Loses to Alex Pereira via Vicious TKO at UFC 281: “And Still Standing 10 Toes Deep in My Light”

The aftermath of UFC 281

The whole deal with Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira garnered a lot of eyes right from the moment it was announced. The long-running rivalry, the verbal attacks prior to the fight to the fight itself. Everything with this bout kept fans hyped throughout its course and the dust seems to be settling a little now.

Everyone seems to be slowly but steadily absorbing what has happened. Israel Adesanya has accepted his defeat in a mature way and looks forward to fighting Pereira again. The career trajectory of Alex Pereira is seeing a drastic incline with the UFC middleweight champion belt around his waist. It all worked out well for the Poatan after all.

Watch this story: Five Things You Didn’t Know About Israel Adesanya

The rivalry between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira is also being termed one of the greatest rivalries in the UFC at the moment. Now it is about time to see what fate holds for the two fighters in regards to facing each other once again in the octagon.