.svg)
Adesanya attempted to reclaim the middleweight title against Dricus Du Plessis in the main event at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, on Aug. 17. Both fighters went to war in a bout that showed glimpses of both Adesanya’s most elite form and Du Plessis’ usual awkward brawling style. The South African eventually defended his title with a fourth-round submission win over Adesanya.
Adesanya’s former foe, Pereira, was keeping a keen eye on the fight and even mentioned a potential move back down to middleweight to challenge “Stillknocks” upon its conclusion. Pereira also observed a lack of Adesanya’s signature leg kicks, leading him to speculate that “The Last Stylebender” might have been injured. “Poatan” admitted being bothered by those kicks when he fought Adesanya and believes Du Plessis would have also been affected. According to the Brazilian, Du Plessis had an easier night at the office due the lack of those leg attacks.
“Of course, I don’t know how Adesanya was,” Pereira said on his YouTube channel. “When we are there, we don’t talk about injuries, don’t talk about problems. We are there. We want to fight, want to win—no excuses. Maybe Adesanya had an injury. You could see he kicked very little. That inside kick of Adesanya’s is very good. Not everyone can do that, but he can do it very well. It was a good weapon and he didn’t continue doing that inside kick. Even Dricus said it bothered him, also bothered me. I said it before for the people who asked me. He didn’t continue to do it. When he is only throwing hands, I think it’s easier for the opponent to protect themselves or get out. It was more boxing there. So it was easier for [Du Plessis].”
Adesanya reacted to Pereira’s analysis, hinting that it could be accurate.
“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,” Adesanya wrote on X.
Adesanya and Pereira fought twice in Glory Kickboxing before their UFC careers, with “Poatan” emerging victorious both times, once via knockout. Pereira transitioned to MMA and came into the UFC much later than Adesanya and proceeded to dethrone “The Last Stylebender” via knockout yet again in the first Octagon meeting. Adesanya got his revenge in their UFC middleweight title rematch via a second-round knockout at UFC 287 in April 2023, which led to Pereira moving up to light heavyweight to claim the title in that division.
.svg)