{"id":25756,"date":"2025-03-05T20:57:44","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T19:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?p=25756"},"modified":"2025-03-05T20:57:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T19:57:46","slug":"he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;He has to be my friend now that I&#8217;m friends with Adesanya&#8217; &#8211; Alex Pereira Urges Former Champion to be his friend!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>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&rsquo;s not brawling and knocking fighters out. Recently, we&rsquo;ve seen him make some new friends from all across the UFC and some of them were his rivals earlier.<\/p><p>For context, we all know that he&rsquo;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 <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/mma\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>UFC <\/a>312.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Alex Pereira links up with Sean Strickland in Sydney &#128514;&#128293;<br><br>&#127909; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AlexPereiraUFC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>@AlexPereiraUFC<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UFC312?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>#UFC312<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>#UFC<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MMA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>#MMA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Ve22o4KlxT\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/Ve22o4KlxT<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChampRDS\/status\/1887021858081444205?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>February 5, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>So today we look at all the friends that Poatan has recently made from all across the UFC. Let&rsquo;s get right into it.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Poatan and Izzy&rsquo;s friendship<\/h2><p>Pereira is now friends with Israel Adesanya who he&rsquo;s fought, twice, in the past. Not long ago, Izzy and Poatan were fierce rivals but now it seems like it&rsquo;s all water under the bridge as the two have made up and they even planned to take a trip together to Brazil (Pereira&rsquo;s home country) and let Izzy meet Pereira&rsquo;s people there. The two fighters have utmost respect for each other and they have also talked about training together. <\/p><p>Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/magomed-ankalaev-responds-to-alex-pereira-challenge-to-bet-200k\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>Magomed Ankalaev Responds to Alex Pereira&rsquo;s Challenge To Bet $200K<\/a><\/p><p>It is great to see some of the best and legendary fighters of the <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/mma\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>UFC <\/a>come together and appreciate each other&rsquo;s greatness!<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\"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.\"<br><br>Alex Pereira reflects on his relationship with Israel Adesanya. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2kdk7H2Cmr\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/2kdk7H2Cmr<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/arielhelwani\/status\/1883998493704085878?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>January 27, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Poatan wants to be friends with Kamaru Usman, now that he&rsquo;s befriended Izzy<\/h2><p>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 &ldquo;The Last Stylebender,&rdquo; to take time off and focus on enjoying his fighting career. This just shows that they truly care about each other. <\/p><p>When Alex Pereira met Kamaru Usman recently, Poatan told Usman that since he&rsquo;s (Pereira) friends with Izzy, Kamaru also needs to be friends with him. Usman was all smiles and he replied <em>&ldquo;Of course, never not friends. When you&rsquo;re warriors, never not friends share the same spirit.&rdquo; <\/em><\/p><p>Usman then asked Poatan about if he&rsquo;s practicing his English speaking skills, to which Alex replied <em>&ldquo;Little.&rdquo;<\/em> Usman followed up with another question asking Poatan if he understood English a little bit and Pereira, to everybody&rsquo;s surprise, replied in English and said <em>&ldquo;If you speak slow, I understand, if you speak fast for me it&rsquo;s difficult.&rdquo; <\/em><\/p><p>Usman, surprised at how fluent Poatan was speaking in the common tongue, added a little humor and said <em>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t ever let them know you speak English like this.&rdquo;<\/em> Usman also gave a suggestion to Poatan that if he knocks out Ankalaev in <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/mma\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>UFC <\/a>313 at Las Vagas, he should shout <em>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s up Las Vegas&rdquo;<\/em> in English.<\/p><p>Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-the-tools-ex-ufc-champion-gives-his-take-on-potential-islam-makhachev-vs-ilia-topuria-superfight\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>&lsquo;He has the tools&rsquo; &ndash; Ex-UFC Champion Gives His Take On Potential Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria Superfight<\/a><\/p><blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DGyibgSyC_y\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DGyibgSyC_y\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewbox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div><div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DGyibgSyC_y\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>A post shared by ESPN MMA (@espnmma)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Izzy picks his new friend to win the fight at UFC 313<\/h2><p>When a reporter asked Izzy to predict about who&rsquo;s going to win the fight between Ankalaev and Pereira at <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/mma\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>UFC <\/a>313, he kept it short and simply saying &ldquo;Poatan. Chama.&rdquo; <\/p><p>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.<\/p><p>Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/justin-gaethje-gives-his-thoughts-on-ilia-topuria-chances-at-lightweight\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>Justin Gaethje Gives His Thoughts On Ilia Topuria&rsquo;s Chances At Lightweight<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"mm-layout mm-layout-type-post mm-layout-slot4\">\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":25779,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mux_skip_reasons":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1783],"tags":[695,2140,1786],"class_list":["post-25756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mma","tag-alex-pereira","tag-israel-adesanya","tag-kamaru-usman"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&#039;He has to be my friend now that I&#039;m friends with Adesanya&#039; - Alex Pereira Urges Former Champion to be his friend! - The Playoffs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Recently we&#039;ve seen Alex Pereira making a lot of friends in the UFC and it now includes one of the biggest names at Welterweight!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&#039;He has to be my friend now that I&#039;m friends with Adesanya&#039; - Alex Pereira Urges Former Champion to be his friend! - The Playoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Recently we&#039;ve seen Alex Pereira making a lot of friends in the UFC and it now includes one of the biggest names at Welterweight!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Playoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-05T20:57:46+01:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/USATSI_23052744_168416100_lowres.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1416\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1055\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Eric Divakaran\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/x.com\/EricHar44584857\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ThePlayoffsEN\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Eric Divakaran\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Eric Divakaran\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/98ac2e1774499fd4d7a7e37d04514940\"},\"headline\":\"&#8216;He has to be my friend now that I&#8217;m friends with Adesanya&#8217; &#8211; Alex Pereira Urges Former Champion to be his friend!\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-05T19:57:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-05T19:57:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/\"},\"wordCount\":676,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/USATSI_23052744_168416100_lowres.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Alex Pereira\",\"Israel Adesanya\",\"Kamaru Usman\"],\"articleSection\":[\"MMA\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2025\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/\",\"name\":\"\\\\'He has to be my friend now that I\\\\'m friends with Adesanya\\\\' - Alex Pereira Urges Former Champion to be his friend! - The Playoffs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/USATSI_23052744_168416100_lowres.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-05T19:57:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-05T19:57:46+00:00\",\"description\":\"Recently we\\\\'ve seen Alex Pereira making a lot of friends in the UFC and it now includes one of the biggest names at Welterweight!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/USATSI_23052744_168416100_lowres.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/USATSI_23052744_168416100_lowres.jpg\",\"width\":1416,\"height\":1055,\"caption\":\"Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"&#8216;He has to be my friend now that I&#8217;m friends with Adesanya&#8217; &#8211; Alex Pereira Urges Former Champion to be his friend!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/\",\"name\":\"The Playoffs\",\"description\":\"Share passion for sports &amp; betting\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Playoffs\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/selo-tp-2020-415x280-1.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/selo-tp-2020-415x280-1.webp\",\"width\":415,\"height\":280,\"caption\":\"The Playoffs\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/ThePlayoffsEN\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/theplayoffs_en\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/98ac2e1774499fd4d7a7e37d04514940\",\"name\":\"Eric Divakaran\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/03dc79e73261aa5431bf3c6402ac8014?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/03dc79e73261aa5431bf3c6402ac8014?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Eric Divakaran\"},\"description\":\"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.\u00a0\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ericaintthatcooked\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/x.com\/EricHar44584857\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/author\/eric-divakaran\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"&#039;He has to be my friend now that I&#039;m friends with Adesanya&#039; - Alex Pereira Urges Former Champion to be his friend! - The Playoffs","description":"Recently we&#039;ve seen Alex Pereira making a lot of friends in the UFC and it now includes one of the biggest names at Welterweight!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"&#039;He has to be my friend now that I&#039;m friends with Adesanya&#039; - Alex Pereira Urges Former Champion to be his friend! - The Playoffs","og_description":"Recently we&#039;ve seen Alex Pereira making a lot of friends in the UFC and it now includes one of the biggest names at Welterweight!","og_url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/","og_site_name":"The Playoffs","article_modified_time":"2025-03-05T19:57:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1416,"height":1055,"url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/USATSI_23052744_168416100_lowres.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Eric Divakaran","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/x.com\/EricHar44584857","twitter_site":"@ThePlayoffsEN","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Eric Divakaran","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/"},"author":{"name":"Eric Divakaran","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/98ac2e1774499fd4d7a7e37d04514940"},"headline":"&#8216;He has to be my friend now that I&#8217;m friends with Adesanya&#8217; &#8211; Alex Pereira Urges Former Champion to be his friend!","datePublished":"2025-03-05T19:57:44+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-05T19:57:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/"},"wordCount":676,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/USATSI_23052744_168416100_lowres.jpg","keywords":["Alex Pereira","Israel Adesanya","Kamaru Usman"],"articleSection":["MMA"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2025","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/","url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/","name":"\\'He has to be my friend now that I\\'m friends with Adesanya\\' - Alex Pereira Urges Former Champion to be his friend! - The Playoffs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/USATSI_23052744_168416100_lowres.jpg","datePublished":"2025-03-05T19:57:44+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-05T19:57:46+00:00","description":"Recently we\\'ve seen Alex Pereira making a lot of friends in the UFC and it now includes one of the biggest names at Welterweight!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/USATSI_23052744_168416100_lowres.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/USATSI_23052744_168416100_lowres.jpg","width":1416,"height":1055,"caption":"Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/he-has-to-be-my-friend-now-that-im-friends-with-adesanya-alex-pereira-urges-former-champion-to-be-his-friend\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"&#8216;He has to be my friend now that I&#8217;m friends with Adesanya&#8217; &#8211; Alex Pereira Urges Former Champion to be his friend!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/","name":"The Playoffs","description":"Share passion for sports &amp; betting","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization","name":"The Playoffs","url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/selo-tp-2020-415x280-1.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/selo-tp-2020-415x280-1.webp","width":415,"height":280,"caption":"The Playoffs"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/ThePlayoffsEN","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/theplayoffs_en\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/98ac2e1774499fd4d7a7e37d04514940","name":"Eric Divakaran","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/03dc79e73261aa5431bf3c6402ac8014?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/03dc79e73261aa5431bf3c6402ac8014?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Eric Divakaran"},"description":"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.\u00a0","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ericaintthatcooked\/","https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/x.com\/EricHar44584857"],"url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/author\/eric-divakaran\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25756"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25756"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25978,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25756\/revisions\/25978"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}