Photos – Fans Speculate Israel Adesanya is set for trilogy fight with UFC foe Alex Pereira amid massive weight gain

Confirming at the end of last year how is planning a quickfire return to the Octagon instead of a confirmed layoff until 2027 at the very earliest, former two-time middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has been backed to fight Alex Pereira at the light heavyweight limit – appearing to show off a significant weight gain during his time away from the Octagon.

Adesanya, a former undisputed middleweight titleholder twice under the banner of the promotion, has been sidelined from competition since he headlined UFC 293 back in September, suffering a one-sided unanimous decision loss to Sean Strickland in Australia in an upset judging loss.

And initially announcing plans for a sidelining until 2027 amid his loss to Strickland, Adesanya has since confirmed plans to make a return to the UFC in the near future – amid links to a trilogy rubber match with undisputed light heavyweight champion – potentially at UFC 300 as part of the monumental April flagship card. 

Israel Adesanya appears to have significantly bulked up

And despite initially rubbishing Sao Paulo rival, Pereira’s offer of a rubber match for the light heavyweight title this year, Adesanya has fueled speculation of a third fight with the two-weight champion – appearing to put on significant muscle mass and size since his most recent walk. 

Briefly making a light heavyweight division climb back in 2021, Adesanya challenged for undisputed divisional spoils against common-foe and former champion, Jan Blachowicz at the UFC Apex facility, suffering his first Octagon loss in the form of a unanimous decision loss. 

Commenting on Adesanya’s apparent lack of interest in a third fight, Pereira admitted that he wanted to give the City Kickboxing an opportunity to close out their rivalry in the form of an Octagon trilogy bout. 

“It doesn’t matter for me,” Alex Pereira said. “I called him (Israel Adesanya) out in the cage after the title win, and I wanted to give him the chance, and I saw he did not give me any respect for this – he was laughing about it and making some jokes.”

“So for me, it doesn’t matter anymore,” Alex Pereira explained. “I gave him the chance. If he comes up, nice; if he doesn’t, it doesn’t matter.”

Do you think Israel Adesanya is set for a light heavyweight move next?