The concept of a ‘Personal Boogeyman’ is nothing new in combat sports. Be it Alexander Volkanovski to Max Holloway or Jon Jones to Daniel Cormier, it seems even the best fighters sometimes have opponents that they just can not beat. However, unlike the previous examples, Israel actually hasn’t given up on beating his long-time rival as he prepares to face Alex yet again.
People associated with ‘The last Stylebender’ have tried to solve the riddle of Pereira by taking different measures. But the Brazillian somehow always walks through the Kiwi like a terminator. In a recent meet and greet event, one of Adesanya’s fans presented him with a glow-in-the-dark fluorite stone.
“I know you’re the Black Dragon. I’m the Emerald Dragon, It’s a glow-in-the-dark fluorite. It heals your seven chakras. I know you are all about that. So get that balance back, get that title back” said the fan.
Israel was taken aback by the antics of the fan but later understood the Chakra reference. In Asian culture, Chakras are known to be energy centers and seven of them are located in the spine to the crown of the head area. These references go back to the anime ‘Avatar: The last Stylebender’ which Israel is both a fan of and got his nickname from.
What has Adesanya been up to?
Adesanya was gifted brass knuckles by a fan after his fight with Pereira. Israel carried the knuckles during his flight and was stopped and detained by airport security. Later the former middleweight champ was let go after misunderstandings were cleared. Probably after that incident, Israel started to become weary of gifts from strangers.
As far as the fight game goes, a rematch between ‘Paotan’ and ‘Stylebender’ has been greenlit even by Dana but no finalized information has been released. The Nigerian-Kiwi fighter was already looking like a shell of his former self in his rematch against Robert Whittaker and his title defense against Jared Cannonier.
What should the potential hall of fame do to defeat Pereira in their fourth bout? Let us know your ideas.
