Alex Pereira speculates Injury Held Israel Adesanya Back at UFC 305; Izzy Says 'This guy knows me'

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira know each other so well that it takes just one glance for them to predict whether their foe is holding back his moves or not. The UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Alex Pereira, recently witnessed the Last Stylebender lose to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305 via. submission, and made a unique observation. Adesanya's defeat shocked many as he was dominating the match and had the fight ceased the time limit, Adesanya would have been adjudged as the winner and won the Middleweight championship again. However, Du Plessis caught Izzy with a huge strike in the 4th round and found the opening to put his arm across his neck.

Also Read | Sean O'Malley Dismisses Jon Jones as UFC GOAT, Declares Islam as Best

Alex Pereira on Israel Adesanya's Loss

In the aftermath of the match, Alex Pereira speculated that Israel Adesanya was seemingly bothered by an injury in the match against Dricus du Plessis. Poatan supported his conjecture by highlighting that Adesanya refrained from delivering a low kick in the match, which is a big part of his arsenal.

"Maybe Adesanya had a injury, I don't know," Pereira said during his YouTube breakdown, adding, "You could see he kicked very little...That inside leg kick of Adesanya is very good...he didn’t continue to do it...he is only throwing hands." 

Also Read | Israel Adesanya Addresses Retirement Talks After Losing at UFC 305

Israel Adesanya's Reacts

Upon noting Alex Pereira's observation, Adesanya admitted that being formidable rivals, he and Pereira know each other inside out.

On X, he retorted, "It’s weird how this guy knows me...it’s like we’ve spent hours studying each other's moves and fought multiple times or sumn’. I mean that." 

Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya have fought each other multiple times in different set-ups in the combat sports world. Both fighters have squared off four times till now, twice in kickboxing and twice in MMA. Pereira has a 3-1 head-to-head record over Adesanya.