May 29, (THEWILL) – Longstanding adversaries Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira continue to find themselves in close proximity, despite their best efforts to avoid each other.
On Monday, both fighters took to their respective social media platforms to share videos, revealing their chance encounter at an airport. Pereira’s footage captured Adesanya amusingly dodging the camera while accompanied by fellow UFC champion Alexander Volkanovski. Adesanya’s video, on the other hand, showed him striding forward with his recurrent opponent trailing a few steps behind.
After engaging in two thrilling kickboxing matches, Adesanya and Pereira eventually clashed inside the Octagon for the coveted UFC middleweight championship. The highly anticipated encounter took place at New York’s Madison Square Garden during the headline bout of UFC 281 last November.
As THEWILL reported, in an astonishing come-from-behind victory, Pereira triumphed over Adesanya by delivering a decisive blow in the fifth round. It was a devastating outcome for Adesanya as it appeared Pereira was a stumbling block having beaten him twice in kickboxing and come to the Octagon to hand in a third defeat and claim his belt.
However, the duo met once again five months later, with Adesanya seeking redemption. In a display of sheer dominance, Adesanya executed a brutal knockout of Pereira during the second round, reclaiming his middleweight title in the process and delivering an inspiring speech about never giving up.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
