Alex Pereira gives honest assessment of rumored Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus Du Plessis fight: “After we fought, he changed a little bit”

UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira has given his thoughts on Israel Adesanya’s impending return to the Octagon.

As we know, Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya have had quite the rivalry in combat sports. They fought twice in kickboxing with Pereira going 2-0, and in mixed martial arts, they’re currently locked at 1-1.

‘Poatan’ managed to shock the world and defeat Adesanya in their first UFC meeting. Alas, in their rematch, it was Adesanya who was stood tall at the end of the night after a magnificent comeback knockout. While Pereira is enjoying life at 205 pounds, Adesanya is preparing for his return to the cage with rumors suggesting it’ll come against Dricus du Plessis.

RELATED: UFC star Israel Adesanya claims he’s “dialed in” as he gets back to training

In a recent interview, Alex reflected on the impact that his fights against ‘Stylebender’ have had on the latter’s career.

Pereira comments on Adesanya

“Being honest with you, like I said before, why the Strickland fight for him would be a hard fight and looking how everything played out, how everything worked, after I fought Adesanya, he changed a little bit,” Pereira told Fox Sports Australia through a Portuguese-language interpreter. “It’s kind of like, I’m not going to say he’s not the same anymore but he’s been performing a little different, so I don’t even know what to expect.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

There’s no denying that these two have shared an incredible rivalry already. Alas, it still feels as if there’s some unfinished business lingering in the air. Who knows, maybe we’ll see their MMA trilogy one day.

Do you believe that Israel Adesanya will make a winning return in mixed martial arts later this year? Have we seen the end of the feud between these two, or will it continue? Let us know, BJPENN Nation!