Apr 8, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Alex Pereira (red gloves) fights Israel Adesanya (blue gloves) during UFC 287 at Miami-Dade Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports

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Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira End Rivalry As The Former Middlweight Champions Pose Cheekily At UFC 312!

Rivals Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira settle their feud in the UFC 312 stands, ending their fierce rivalry!

Apr 8, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Alex Pereira (red gloves) fights Israel Adesanya (blue gloves) during UFC 287 at Miami-Dade Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports

Few rivalries have burned hot as the one between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. These two striking specialists have crossed paths four times, twice in kickboxing and twice in the UFC octagon. Their history is filled with dramatic knockouts, intense trash talk, and the kind of genuine animosity that fight fans live for. Alex Pereira had Israel Adesanya’s number in kickboxing, famously knocking him out in their second bout, a moment that haunted Adesanya during his rise to UFC stardom.

But time, it seems, really does heal all wounds, even in a sport where bad blood tends to simmer forever. At UFC 312 in Sydney, fans witnessed something that would have seemed impossible just a year ago. Adesanya and Pereira sitting side by side, actually enjoying each other’s company.

Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya are currently together watching UFC 312 👀 pic.twitter.com/sJnLJblS42
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) February 9, 2025

The two warriors who once couldn’t stand being in the same room were now taking selfie videos together and cracking genuine smiles. In his IG story, Pereira asked Adesanya “Chama nao Chama.” And his response was a simple ‘Chama!’

‘The Last Stylebender’ also put up an edited post on his IG account.

CHAMA 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Q2c6athQg9
— Alex "Poatan" Pereira (@AlexPereiraUFC) February 9, 2025

Israel Adesanya shares an edit of him and Alex Pereira riding a roller coaster 😭😭

📸 @stylebender #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/H4mvsqd0wN
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 9, 2025

Journey From Enemies To Friends

Their journey from bitter enemies to seemingly cordial colleagues is pretty remarkable when fans think about it. After their kickboxing matches, Pereira followed Adesanya to the UFC, climbing the ranks with the sole purpose of hunting down his old rival. Their first UFC fight in 2022 saw Pereira snatch the middleweight title from Adesanya in dramatic fashion.

PEREIRA DOES THE UNTHINKABLE!! 😱

HE KOs ADESANYA AGAIN!! #UFC281 pic.twitter.com/YiNrtkrVFY
— UFC (@ufc) November 13, 2022

However, Izzy got his revenge in their rematch, finally defeating his longtime nemesis. Since then, Alex Pereira has moved up to light heavyweight and claimed gold there, while Adesanya remains at middleweight after losing his reclaimed title to Sean Strickland.

This unexpected show of friendship reminds fans of other famous UFC rivalries that eventually turned to respect. There is something weirdly heartwarming about seeing two guys who used to want to take each other’s heads off just chilling together at an event. Maybe they both realized that having someone who truly understands your journey, even if they were once your biggest rival, is pretty special in this sport.

Also Read: UFC 312: Dricus Du Plessis Vs. Sean Strickland Head To Head Record, Tale Of The Tape And More!

All Is Well That Ends Well!

While fans might be wondering if this newfound friendliness means they will never see a trilogy fight in MMA, this might not be the case (although it may be very difficult). The fight game has a funny way of bringing people together and tearing them apart again.

With Alex Pereira at light heavyweight and Israel Adesanya at middleweight, they would need some stars to align for another matchup. For now, though, it is kind of nice to see these two warriors put aside their differences and show that even the fiercest rivals can eventually find common ground!

(Image Credit: Rich Storry – Imagn Images)

Alex Pereira

Israel Adesanya

UFC 312

Zaid Quraishi

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I am a dedicated MMA and Boxing content writer at The Playoffs. I was instantly hooked on MMA after watching the fight between Lyoto Machida vs. Gegard Mousasi back in 2014, and since then, i have been an avid writer with a deep love for the sport and its techniques, providing readers with a thorough understanding of the sport. My favorite aspect of working at The Playoffs is the creative freedom it provides. The diverse range of topics, from listicles and SEO to news articles, keeps me engaged and motivates me to continuously improve my skills! I aim to capture the excitement of the combat sports world in my writing, acting as the middleman between fighters and their die-hard fans. It is kind of like a referee, but with words!