Earlier than getting his topknot kicked crooked at UFC 303, Jiří Procházka accused Pereira of utilizing “magic” and “spells” to win their earlier battle, which is as hilarious as it’s weird. However on the off likelihood that’s it’s true, Pereira’s GOAT resume may gain advantage from a spell that grants Izzy the braveness to present 205 a second likelihood.
In 2021, following a call loss in his debut mild heavyweight bout towards then-champion Jan Błachowicz, Adesanya spoke one in every of his favourite idioms: “Dare to be nice.” It’s a saying he’s repeated since, typically adopted by an affirmation: “And I’m.” He stated this at a time in his profession when language was his personal form of magic, a narrativizing drive so highly effective it’d flip the world right into a manga web page and bend future into the form of the anime arc in his head. Someplace alongside the best way, although, maybe even earlier than getting beat up by Strickland and choked out by DDP, Adesanya stopped daring to be nice and now prefers to imagine he already his.
Given the “final purpose wins” angle he’s taken after lastly defeating Pereira in his fourth attempt in two sports activities, it’s clear, at the very least to me, what’s stopping the 2 from finishing their MMA trilogy: Adesanya desires no elements of Poatan’s full energy at mild heavyweight. Regardless of being visibly extra muscular than he was the primary time he moved up, having completely no fascinating matchups left for him at middeweight, and probably having a greater likelihood towards a striker at 205 than he did towards a wrestler like Błachowicz, the previous champion appears content material avoiding one other battle together with his nemesis. In flip, this makes each of their claims to greatness appear barely much less daring.
Positive, Pereira’s transfer to heavyweight might and may occur with or with out an MMA tie-breaker with Adesanya. However think about how way more particular it’d be if it got here after an historic Brazilian ritual granted Izzy his former spirit and compelled him to finish the best UFC rivalry within the fashionable period.