UFC middleweight contender Alex Pereira believes former foe Israel Adesanya is scared to fight him again.

It’s become a popular part of Israel Adesanya’s story in combat sports – especially for those who don’t like him. Back in 2016 and 2017, “The Last Stylebender” twice fought Brazilian star Alex Pereira in kickboxing. In their first meeting, Pereira came out on top via decision, and in the rematch he was able to knock Adesanya out cold.

While Adesanya has noted that he’d be open to a rematch if Pereira is able to work his way up into the top five, “Poatan” isn’t all that convinced.

https://twitter.com/mmafighting/status/1501275656612720642?s=21

“He’ll run from me – someone crazy for a fight will say, ‘I want this guy, I want to prove I’m better than him’. He’s fooling his fanbase, people should pressure him. The least he could do is say ‘f***, I’ll show my fans that I’m the best and that’s why they follow me’, but that’s not what he’s doing. He’s scared s***.”

While he may only be 4-1 in mixed martial arts, there’s definitely something to be said for Alex Pereira’s incredible striking. His first fight in the UFC took place back at UFC 268 and on that night, he made quite the statement with a nasty TKO win over Andreas Michailidis.

After facing some adversity he was able to pull through and secure the win, but this weekend, he’ll face an entirely different challenge when he collides with Bruno Silva.

There’s a good chance this could be Fight of the Night but in equal measure, we’d suggest you don’t blink throughout the entirety of the bout.

Do you think we will see Alex Pereira fight Israel Adesanya in the future? If so, is there a chance Pereira could pick up the win? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments, BJPENN Nation!