MMA
Israel Adesanya reveals the one UFC champion he will always 'respect'
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Many people believe Israel Adesanya is one of the greatest middleweight champions of all time, he's certainly built himself up as one that many competitors respect and admire. But in a recent interview, the former UFC champion revealed the man who he says he'll always respect, despite their long-standing feud.
"Definitely down the road,” Adesanya told MMA Fighting of the possibility of training with Alex Pereira someday. “Me and Alex, I’ve already said I got what I wanted from that fight. I think the MMA world just gets greedy and tries to ruin a good thing because they want more. Never knowing when to quit. That’s why you shouldn’t gamble.
“But yeah, eventually it will, but right now it’s not that time. He lives so far away, the opportunity hasn’t arisen. We still have guys like Carlos [Ulberg] in the trenches, working hard, getting ready for his next fight so he can become a No. 1 contender. I’ll always respect ‘Poatan.’ He’s a guy that we already understood this and we’ve already shared this with each other, so yeah, it will happen one day. Who knows when.”
The pair have fought a total of four times, twice in kickboxing and twice in MMA. The first three fights went Pereira's way, and the fourth and final, Adesanya's. The match-ups have always been exciting for fans.
Adesanya is gearing up for his return to the Octagon where he'll fight Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia on Feb. 1. Pereira, on the other hand, will put his title on the line when he meets Magomed Ankalaev on March 8 at UFC 313.
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