If you saw Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira sitting together in the front row at UFC 312 and thought to yourself, “I’d love to know what those legendary rivals are saying to each other,” you’re in luck.
That’s because Friday, on his FREESTLYEBENDER YouTube Channel, Adesanya released a behind-the-scenes video of his experience sitting next to Pereira and his coach, Plinio Cruz, at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. In short, they bonded as they watched the fights together and talked about their rivalry, Adesanya’s recent loss to Nassourdine Imavov, a future visit to Brazil, and more – with Cruz serving as an interpreter. They even took a gummy together.
Afterward, Adesanya was grateful for the experience.
“That was cool, just sitting next to them,” Adesanya said. “Whoever set that up, good job. It made for good moments. I think he’s genuine in his offer to get together and make a connect happen, so we’ll make it happen one day.”
You can watch the behind-the-scenes video above.
Adesanya and Pereira have fought each other four times in their professional careers – twice in kickboxing and twice in MMA. Pereira won both kickboxing fights and then knocked out Adesanya to claim the middleweight title in their first MMA bout at UFC 281. Four months later at UFC 287, Adesanya finished Pereira to reclaim the 185-pound title.
Currently, Pereira is the reigning light heavyweight champion and will aim for his fourth consecutive title defense March 8 against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313. Adesanya, meanwhile, is on a three-fight losing streak after being knocked out by Imavov earlier this month.
