Following his title victory at UFC 295, Alex Pereira insists on an MMA trilogy, calling Israel Adesanya’s break “a waste of talent”. Was it his recent victory that gave him the confidence to make such a comment or something else? Continue reading to find out!
In the main event of UFC 295 on Saturday, the recently crowned UFC light heavyweight champion defeated Jiri Prochazka and demanded a trilogy matchup with Adesanya. In the second round of their match for the vacant title, Prochazka was stopped by TKO by Pereira.
“Adesanya, come to daddy,” Pereira exclaimed in his post-fight interview following the victory. Many were taken aback by this since Adesanya is taking leave from mixed martial arts. The next contender is anticipated to be Jamahal Hill, the former 205-pound champion who had to give up the title due to an injury.
During the UFC 295 post-event press conference, Pereira was asked about his feelings towards Hill. He dismissed the question and insisted on talking about the Adesanya trilogy instead.
Pereira conveyed to reporters through an interpreter that he meant what he said earlier. He expressed that he believes he owes this to Adesanya because Adesanya was his initial source of motivation. Pereira also shared his opinion that Adesanya’s decision to stay out until 2027 is a waste of talent, and he thinks he can be the one to bring Adesanya back.
Pereira believes Hill won’t be prepared to fight for some time, so he’s partly motivated to see Adesanya fight to stay active. If that fight does end up going down, though, it will just be another match for the Brazilian. Despite Hill defeating his mentor, Glover Teixeira, earlier this year, there is no personal rivalry between the two.
Pereira stated that many people had asked him if he wanted to avenge Glover against Jiri. He emphasized that he does not bring such feelings into the octagon because he knows what he has to do, and he has everything planned and trained for the fight. Pereira mentioned that he cares about Glover a lot, but he views a fight as a fight. He acknowledged that he could have come out with a loss that night, but fortunately, he secured a victory.
Do you feel that Pereira is right in calling a fighter unprepared or is he right about Hill not being prepared to fight for some time? Do let us know about your thoughts in the comment section!
