When it comes to putting out fires in his combat sports career, a newfound camaraderie with Israel Adesanya isn’t the only unlikely friendship UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira is open to.
While achieving unprecedented success in just a few short years under the UFC banner, former kickboxing star “Poatan” has already has his fair share of rivalries.
Front and center is his feud with Adesanya, which was forged from two battles in the ring and the Brazilian ‘chasing’ his foe to the Octagon, where he dethroned him. A fourth clash between the pair finally went the way of “The Last Stylebender,” leading to talk of yet another installment.
But the pair have since swapped their back and forth for an apparent friendship. After some previous interactions, the pair sat alongside one another while in attendance at UFC 312 earlier this month. Adesanya even recited Pereira’s catchphrase during a video that the latter uploaded to social media.
And with one heated conflict now firmly in the past, “Poatan” is willing to do the same to another that’s currently raging on down the line.
During an interview on Straight Talk with Mark Bouris, Pereira was asked about the possibility of forming a similar bond with former opponent Jamahal Hill.
“Right now, at the moment no, because of a potential fight in the future. We fight in the same weight class,” Pereira said. “But if [it] happens just like Israel Adesanya, I’m not fighting him [Hill] anymore, I have no problem with that. We can be friends, train together; no problem for me.”
Pereira and Hill’s animosity arose ahead of their title bout at UFC 300 last April, with “Sweet Dreams” confidently downplaying the Brazilian’s threat only to be knocked out inside the first round.
As the American pursues a rematch, he attempted to confront Pereira at the UFC Performance Institute a couple of months back, with the champ’s coach ultimately getting between the pair after his man invited Hill to spar.
