Alex Pereira has recently responded to Israel Adesanya’s ruthless taunting of his 12-year-old son during their title match at UFC 287. Adesanya regained the middleweight title after defeating Pereira in the second round in a highly charged match that included a controversial moment involving Pereira’s son.
During the match, Adesanya delivered a knockout blow to Pereira and then proceeded to taunt him by performing Pereira’s own arrow celebration while standing over his body. However, Adesanya did not stop there. He also pointed out Pereira’s son who was in the audience and then dropped to the floor.
This gesture was a nod to their kickboxing bout in 2017. Pereira’s son was only five years old at the time. He had mimicked Adesanya getting knocked out after Pereira’s victory over Adesanya at Glory of Heroes 7.
Despite the trolling by Adesanya towards his son, Pereira remained surprisingly calm about the incident. In an interview, Pereira stated that he was not sure if he wouldn’t do the same thing if he were in Adesanya’s position.
Pereira stated: “I don’t know if I wouldn’t do the same. I can play with him, I’ve always played with him and teased him. It was something that happened. But I don’t know, it’s another child because I don’t know what his feeling was.”
“I don’t know, it is seven years ago, he was enduring it and I saw his joy that he had after the knockout because this was his dream. That was his dream and he made it, but we’re comparing him [his son] with a child who was five-years-old at the time, right? I don’t have that mind.”
At the press conference after UFC 278, Adesanya addressed his controversial celebration and shed light on his actions. He admitted to being petty and recalled how Pereira’s son had entered the ring and mocked him the first time Pereira had knocked him out in Brazil.
Adesanya stated: “I’m petty bro. I remember the first time he knocked me out in Brazil his son came into the ring and started to get next to me. I’m like ‘you f**king little a**hole, I’ll whoop your a** if your dad won’t do it for you.”
“I looked for his kid and I pointed at him and I saw him. I was like ‘hey, hey hey,’ just to remind him.”
Despite the rivalry between them, Adesanya also showed respect towards Pereira and his achievements. He added: “I saw him [Pereira] backstage and we’re cool. He’s a great champion, he’s a warrior and his story – I mean that. I’m the antagonist in his story, he’s a f**king beast coming from where he’s come from and the adversity he’s faced in his life to get to where he is.”
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