Israel Adesanya isn’t convinced Alex Pereira is making the right call by continuing his heavyweight experiment, especially after the Brazilian revealed he could return to light heavyweight following his next fight.
“Poatan” is scheduled to face former heavyweight title challenger Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335 on December 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The former two-division champion recently said he would move back down to 205 pounds if he loses to Pavlovich.
Adesanya, who has faced Pereira four times across kickboxing and MMA, questioned both the decision to accept the matchup and the Brazilian’s willingness to discuss a potential return to light heavyweight before stepping into the Octagon.
Israel Adesanya Questions Alex Pereira’s Mindset Ahead Of UFC 335
Speaking to Demetrious Johnson, Adesanya said Pereira should not be entertaining the possibility of defeat before his heavyweight clash. “The Last Stylebender” also suggested that his longtime rival should have returned to light heavyweight after his previous outing.
I don’t know why he’s taking this fight, it doesn’t make sense to me,” Adesanya said. “I mean, I already saw a clip of Pereira saying if he loses to Pavlovich, he’s going back down to 205. I don’t like that. I don’t like the fact he’s putting that out there. What the f*ck do you mean, ‘If I lose?’
Adesanya then urged Pereira to return to the mentality that helped establish him as one of the UFC’s most feared fighters.
Go back to Chama,” he said. “All this BS, all this fugazi, just stick to Chama. Chama.
Pereira had previously hoped to secure a rematch against Ciryl Gane after their interim heavyweight title fight at UFC Freedom 250 in June. Adesanya believes moving back down to 205 pounds after that defeat would have made more sense than taking on Pavlovich.
Why not just stay at 205 after this last fight with Ciryl Gane? I thought he was going to go [back] to 205. It made sense. He’s a big dude for 185. People didn’t say shit about weight-cutting until I knocked him out,” Adesanya added.
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