Alex Poatán knocked out Israel adesanya No. UFC 281 (Photo: Twitter/UFCEspañol)
Despite starring in one of the greatest rivalries in the history of combat sports, Israel adesanya never wanted to be anyone's enemy. The former middleweight champion (up to 83,9kg), who faced Alex Poatán four times between two modalities, he says he would never be a rival to the Brazilian.
During a press conference at UFC 312, the Nigerian explained that he always approached his fights directly and without resentment. Adesanya says that, after losing to Poatan in kickboxing, he accepted the defeat and moved on, but it was the Brazilian himself who pursued him to renew their rivalry in the UFC.
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“I even said this to Alex before — like I said, this is a fight, you have to be a man about it. If you don’t fight, you’re not a man, you don’t understand, but we settled it in the fight, and that’s it. Cool. I even told him: ‘Bro, you beat me in Brazil, it was fair, cool. I left you alone. You were the one who chased me. So, that’s your problem’. It was his fault”, concluded the former champion.
Adesanya rules out rivalries outside the octagon: 'Hating doesn't do me any good'
Adesanya said he sees no point in holding grudges against his former rivals. For him, hatred does no good and would only poison his own mind while others have already moved on.
“With all these guys, what does hating Alex or hating Rob or anybody else do me? It doesn’t do me any good. It’s just poisoning me. I would be holding hate in my heart for somebody who’s already moved on. So why would I do that? I’m not that kind of person. I’m just a laid-back guy,” Adesanya said.
Rivalry between Adesanya and Poatan
Overall, the rivalry between Poatan and Adesanya is three to one for the Brazilian, with two victories in kickboxing and one in MMA, while the nigerian won the last duel between them, for the UFC middleweight title.
At the current stage, both are experiencing opposite realities, as Adesanya faces a series of three consecutive defeats, while Alex Poatán has accumulated five victories (four in title fights) in the light heavyweight division (up to 93 kg).
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