Israel Adesanya making a mistake with immediate rematch, says Alex Pereira

Alex Pereira feels that Israel Adesanya is making a huge mistake by taking up the immediate rematch.

Pereira had outclassed Adesanya to win the UFC Middleweight title at UFC 281 back in November. Adesanya chose to have an immediate rematch and Pereira thinks that it’s a mistake from the former champion.

“If he was on my team, I would tell him, ‘Man, don’t do this fight now. He’s had a brilliant career but he saw there’s no success against me, so I would definitely advise him against doing this fight now. Fight once or twice, and then come back and try again,” Pereira said during the UFC 287 media day.

He went on to elaborate on the idea and note that it might not be the right moment for Adesanya.

“I think he’s the man in charge, the one who says, ‘I want this and that’s it,’. I don’t know. It’s not like myself, Glover [Teixeira], and the team. We talk about things. You have to guide your athlete, because if someone asks a true fighter if he wants to fight someone, he’ll always say yes. But sometimes it’s not the [right] moment,” he added.

“That’s why you must have a team where people understand each other. Forget the ego and things will work. Glover and I talk a lot. He has a ton of experience and I definitely listen to him. I think Adesanya didn’t listen. I’m sure many important people told him not to do this, but he has the final word. It’s his ego as a fighter, but OK then, let’s go,” Pereira said.

When concluding, Pereira noted that if he beats Adesanya, he is unlikely to fight him again.

“Beating him now, I think I’ll never see him again,” Pereira added.

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