Adesanya urges Pereira to drop the 'fugazi' and rediscover his Chama mentality ahead of UFC 335

Israel Adesanya has taken aim at Alex Pereira’s mindset ahead of their old rival’s second heavyweight outing, questioning both the logic of the fight and Pereira’s willingness to publicly plan for defeat.

Pereira is scheduled to meet one-time heavyweight title challenger Sergei Pavlovich in the co-main event of UFC 335 on December 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Speaking to Connect Cast in the build-up, Pereira said he would return to light heavyweight if he loses — a comment that did not sit well with Adesanya.

“I don’t know why he’s taking this fight, it doesn’t make sense to me,” Adesanya told Demetrious Johnson. “I mean, I already saw a clip of Pereira saying if he loses to Pavlovich, he’s going back down to 205. I don’t like that. I don’t like the fact he’s putting that out there. What the f*ck do you mean, ‘If I lose?’”

Adesanya and Pereira have shared the combat sports spotlight on four occasions, including two fights inside the octagon. Pereira stopped Adesanya in the fifth round of their UFC 281 main event in November 2022, but Adesanya exacted revenge by knocking Pereira unconscious at UFC 287 in April 2023 — a finish that won MMA Fighting’s Knockout of the Year.

Despite the rivalry, the two have since developed a friendlier relationship, and Adesanya’s comments carry the tone of a candid warning rather than a taunt. He urged Pereira to reconnect with the ruthless, focused version of himself — nicknamed “Chama”, the Portuguese word for flame — that made him one of the most feared fighters in the promotion.

“Go back to Chama,” Adesanya said. “All this BS, all this fugazi, just stick to Chama. Chama.”

Adesanya also questioned why Pereira moved up to heavyweight at all after his light heavyweight title defence against Ciryl Gane, suggesting the natural next step would have been to remain at 205 pounds. “Why not just stay at 205 after this last fight with Ciryl Gane? I thought he was going to go back to 205. It made sense. He’s a big dude for 185. People didn’t say shit about weight-cutting until I knocked him out.”