Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

‘He has to be my friend now that I’m friends with Adesanya’ – Alex Pereira Urges Former Champion to be his friend!

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

We all know what Alex Pereira is all about when he steps in the octagon. He shows no mercy to his opposition and wants to knock his opponent out as fast as possible. When it comes to fighting, Poatan stands on business and nothing else. However, there may be a wholesome side to Pereira as well when he’s not brawling and knocking fighters out. Recently, we’ve seen him make some new friends from all across the UFC and some of them were his rivals earlier.

For context, we all know that he’s now friends with Sean Strickland who is also his training partner. Earlier the two fought in the Octagon where Poatan knocked out the former middleweight champion. However, after the fight the two have been buddies and Pereira even made a trip over to Sydney to support Strickland for his bout against Du Plessis in UFC 312.

Alex Pereira links up with Sean Strickland in Sydney 😂🔥

🎥 @AlexPereiraUFC #UFC312 #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/Ve22o4KlxT
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 5, 2025

So today we look at all the friends that Poatan has recently made from all across the UFC. Let’s get right into it.

Poatan and Izzy’s friendship

Pereira is now friends with Israel Adesanya who he’s fought, twice, in the past. Not long ago, Izzy and Poatan were fierce rivals but now it seems like it’s all water under the bridge as the two have made up and they even planned to take a trip together to Brazil (Pereira’s home country) and let Izzy meet Pereira’s people there. The two fighters have utmost respect for each other and they have also talked about training together.

Also Read: Magomed Ankalaev Responds to Alex Pereira’s Challenge To Bet $200K

It is great to see some of the best and legendary fighters of the UFC come together and appreciate each other’s greatness!

"Maybe without [Israel Adesanya] I wouldn't be where I am today. I wouldn't have got into the UFC with the good contract that I did due to the history we have."

Alex Pereira reflects on his relationship with Israel Adesanya. pic.twitter.com/2kdk7H2Cmr
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 27, 2025

Poatan wants to be friends with Kamaru Usman, now that he’s befriended Izzy

It is no secret that Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya have been good friends for a long time. Recently when Izzy lost three straight fights, Usman gave out some advice to “The Last Stylebender,” to take time off and focus on enjoying his fighting career. This just shows that they truly care about each other.

When Alex Pereira met Kamaru Usman recently, Poatan told Usman that since he’s (Pereira) friends with Izzy, Kamaru also needs to be friends with him. Usman was all smiles and he replied “Of course, never not friends. When you’re warriors, never not friends share the same spirit.”

Usman then asked Poatan about if he’s practicing his English speaking skills, to which Alex replied “Little.” Usman followed up with another question asking Poatan if he understood English a little bit and Pereira, to everybody’s surprise, replied in English and said “If you speak slow, I understand, if you speak fast for me it’s difficult.”

Usman, surprised at how fluent Poatan was speaking in the common tongue, added a little humor and said “Don’t ever let them know you speak English like this.” Usman also gave a suggestion to Poatan that if he knocks out Ankalaev in UFC 313 at Las Vagas, he should shout “What’s up Las Vegas” in English.

Also Read: ‘He has the tools’ – Ex-UFC Champion Gives His Take On Potential Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria Superfight

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Izzy picks his new friend to win the fight at UFC 313

When a reporter asked Izzy to predict about who’s going to win the fight between Ankalaev and Pereira at UFC 313, he kept it short and simply saying “Poatan. Chama.”

It seems like Alex Pereira is not just a killer in the octagon but also a great person and somebody you would want in your corner.

Also Read: Justin Gaethje Gives His Thoughts On Ilia Topuria’s Chances At Lightweight

Alex Pereira

Israel Adesanya

Kamaru Usman

Eric Divakaran

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I cover the National Football League and things cannot get better than that. I always dreamed to play football or basketball professionally since I’m built like a Running Back. But now that I can’t, since I’m technically in the “Unc” age, I thought why not pick a career in sports industry? So here I am, doing what I love, and hoping that the Commanders win the Super Bowl. I give love to players when it’s due, but can be critical about their performances at the same time. Enough about me, now let my articles do all the talking.