I did him a favor, now he has a life lesson – Israel Adesanya speaks on mimicking Alex Pereira’s 12-year-old son after defeating his father as revenge for the child’s same taunt in 2017.
Israel Adesanya, the current middleweight champion of the UFC, claims that after killing Alex Pereira’s father at UFC 287, he insulted the boy, 12, and gave him a lesson in life.
When he was five years old, Pereira’s son Alessandro made fun of the boxer who was born in Nigeria by acting out his kickboxing knockout in the ring after ‘Poatan’ had won their 2017 battle.
Adesanya exacted retribution by reenacting the stunt in the cage and feigning to collapse unconscious onto the canvas while pointing at Alessandro in the audience.
The child appeared to be in tears at his father’s defeat and some fans criticised the champion for his behaviour.
But Adesanya, speaking on his YouTube channel, said: ‘I was just like, ‘Where is he? I’m going to find him.’
‘And I see his kid then his sister, I think, was holding them. She was holding them because they were crying. So I was just like, ‘bang.’
‘He’s only a kid…’ I’m like, ‘And the f**k what?” If I had a son and he came to the cage after 287 and then start to do that next to Pereira, I’d be like, ‘What the f**k are you doing? Come here. Apologize. Apologize to that man.”
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Adesanya continued: ‘Guy knocked me out in his home country and then you see your kid doing that and you don’t have the discipline to scold him and then again before 281, you’re in your car and you’re like, ‘Look what my son did.’
‘If you’re not going to teach your kids manners and respect, I will. I did him a favor. I did that kid a favor.
‘Now he has a life lesson that he can hold on to forever and just remember that. I’m glad I did it. F**k them kids.’
In the wake of Adesanya’s mocking of his son, Pereira said: ‘Honestly, I wouldn’t do the same. I can play with him like I’ve always played. I’ve teased him, but I don’t know, he’s another child. I don’t know what his feelings were.
