Alex Pereira Willing to Fight Israel Adesanya Again but Advises Nigerian Fighter to Take a Break From MMA

• Alex Pereira beat Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 281 to claim the Middleweight title
• The Last Stylebender is desperate to get a title rematch against Pereira, and is open to another fight
• UFC Middleweight champion Pereira thinks that Adesanya needs to take step back from the sport

Alex Pereira doesn’t care who he fights next, even if it’s Israel Adesanya.

The new UFC Middleweight champion won the title after he defeated Nigeria’s Adesanya via TKO.

Speaking about his first title defence, Pereira said that it made no difference to him who he fought and that he would gladly fight Adesanya again in a rematch, LowKick MMA reported.

“It makes no difference to me if it’s him or another guy. If he really wants it, he has earned the right because he has five title defenses, he said.”

Alex Pereira knocks out Nigeria's Israel Adesanya again in tough UFC battle, video

UFC

While he welcomed the chance to defend his title against the former champ, Pereira advised Adesanya not to rush back into another fight and take some time away for a bit.

Pereira has not defeated The Last Stylebender three times. He beat him twice in professional kickboxing and now in the UFC.

While he does believe that the former champ should take a step away from the sport and think about his next fight, he added that if Adesanya wanted a rematch, he would grant it.

“We had a good fight. He did catch me at one point, so he believes he can beat me. If he really wants it, then he’s next, Pereira added.

Adesanya has already been calling for a rematch after losing the title to Pereira.

Rapper Drake loses huge money betting on UFC fight as Israel Adesanya is knocked out

UFC

Israel Adesanya's fighting career was saved by early referee stoppage, claims MMA coach Firas Zahabi

The debate rages on about referee Marc Goddard stopping the fight in Israel Adesanya's middleweight title bout at UFC 281.

Goddard called an end to the match in the fifth round as challenger Alex Pereira rattled Adesanya with a couple of shots that appeared to have hurt him.

Pereira was declared the winner by TKO and was also crowned the new UFC Middleweight champion.

Adesanya explains why he lost

Adesanya has finally broken his silence on his loss to Alex Pereira, claiming he lost against the Brazilian due to a kick to his calf, Sports Brief reported.

Going into the battle on November 13, many fans tipped Adesanya to defend his title, but he was unable to make something good happen.

Adesanya started the fight against the Brazilian impressively and at one point was even leading 3-1, but Pereira came back strongly and knocked the Nigerian out.