UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was an undefeated fighter before his loss against Jan Blachowicz in 2021. However, this wasn’t the case when Izzy faced the now UFC middleweight fighter Alex Pereira during his kickboxing career.

The Brazilian fighter and ‘The Last Stylebender’ have crossed paths twice when they competed at the kickboxing promotion Glory of Heros. In their first clash, ‘Poatan’ was able to secure a unanimous decision victory over Izzy. Then, in the rematch, after twelve months, the Brazilian left no doubt and knocked out the Nigerian fighter.

Pereira is the only man in the sport to knockout ‘The Last Stylebender’ in his career. Since then, both the men have had a bitter relationship between them.

In an interview with Marcelo Alonso of the PVT channel, Pereira said, “I don’t know if it is just with his friends, right? With the people close to him, (where) he’s that arrogant guy, that annoying guy. Because every time I met the guy, it was all that arrogance, that ego.” (H/T: Sportskeeda)

“He was always like that. Since our first fight in China, he was a guy who pi**ed me off a lot, from the weigh-in to the fight. Even losing, when there was the rematch here in Brazil, he made a post that I don’t really remember.”

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“But it was something like ‘I’ll have to beat Pereira in his backyard and then run out of the favela. It was something like that, right? I only saw him at the weigh-in and the fight. After the fight, I saw him crying outside in Ibirapuera. Sitting on a low wall with his trainer. That’s it.”

Is Alex Pereira in the UFC

‘Poatan’ had an amazing kickboxing career. However, he has a professional fighting career of 4-1 under his name. He was on a three-fight winning streak when he made his debut in one of the biggest MMA promotions.

In 2021, at UFC 268, the Brazilian made his UFC debut and took on Andreas Michailidis inside the UFC cage. ‘Poatan’ secured a stunning flying knee knockout win in his debut. He also won the ‘Performance Of The Night’ bonus at the event.

The 34-year-old already had the fans’ eyes on him before his UFC debut, as he was the only fighter to knockout Adesanya. However, with his stunning debut win, he has now made a mark in the middleweight division of UFC.

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And it will interest the UFC fans to see what he brings to the table next. Also, as he has a past with the middleweight champion, many are hoping to see them clash inside the UFC cage in the future.

What are your thoughts on Pereira’s words? Are you excited about seeing his fights in the future? Let us know in the comments below.