Israel Adesanya says he is fully behind Alex Pereira’s attempt to become the first three-division UFC champion at UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday, describing the moment as historic and comparing it to climbing Everest for the first time.
Adesanya spoke on his YouTube channel ahead of Pereira’s interim heavyweight title fight with Ciryl Gane at the White House.
This is what the division needed. Jones is in or out; we don’t know. Aspinall is still recovering from his last fight with Gane. So now, we needed something fresh. And a guy like Alex, who came into the UFC, smoked dudes to fight me, and then beat me, and then from there becoming the light heavyweight champion, and now, never been done before, never been even attempted, this is rare air. This is a level where you have to just appreciate what this guy’s done.
Adesanya acknowledged their rivalry gives his support a particular meaning.
People can think whatever they want, but I know there’s people who don’t understand what it’s like to root for someone you’ve competed against. It’s not about me. This is bigger than me. This is history. This is, like, to see someone achieve this, and you played a part in helping them get there. It’s f*cking cool, man. Even if he was fighting Godzilla, I want to see Alex do it.
He gave his official prediction.
Official pick, I’m going Chama by Chama. I really believe he’s going to get it done. It’s just destiny. This is bigger than anything.
Pereira defeated Adesanya in the fifth round to claim the UFC middleweight title before Adesanya knocked him out in their rematch. The two have since reconciled.