Current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has a very public rivalry with Alex Pereira stemming from their days in kickboxing. A fight between the two could happen in MMA with the Brazilian getting close to a title shot.

Alex Pereira is currently set to fight Sean Strickland with the winner potentially getting a title shot. Eugen Bareman, Israel Adesanya's coach, recently gave his take on the next potential UFC title challenger.

“It would be nice for Strickland to win, because Strickland’s body of work is good enough to fight for a title. Whereas if Pereira wins, he’s still gotta do more work,” Bareman told Submission Radio. “I wasn’t involved in the fight [when Israel lost to Pereira]. So, I don’t have some deep-seeded need to go and beat up Pereira because we lost to him. We had a match with Pereira and lost fair and square in those matches. That’s the life of a fighter.”

Article Continues Below
More UFC News
Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou together with UFC octagon as background.
5 best heavyweight UFC fighters everBailey Bassett ·
Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O'Malley together.
5 best bantamweight UFC fighters everBailey Bassett ·
ricky simon, cameron smotherman, charles jourdain
UFC Atlanta: Charles Jourdain Out, Cameron Smotherman steps in against Ricky SimonGarrett Kerman ·
van royval, kape, ufc 317
UFC 317: With Manel Kape Out, Joshua Van steps in to take on Brandon RoyvalGarrett Kerman ·
justin gaethje, paddy pimblett
Justin Gaethje’s next fight or retirement? Pimblett rumors shut down and demands title shotGarrett Kerman ·
sean o'malley, merab dvalishvili
The abrupt end of the Sean O’Malley era, the “Suga Show” had it’s final curtain callGarrett Kerman ·

Eugene Bareman went on to dismiss the rivalry with Alex Pereira and noted the UFC middleweight champion is not thinking about it. Sean Strickland is actually on the team's radar.

“I think Pereira’s just another fighter trying to make his way to the champion who’s beat the champion in a completely different sport,” Bareman continued. “I just don’t think Israel even thinks about it too hard. I definitely don’t. The only reason I say Strickland is because if Strickland wins, that’s a really clear cut contender. Whereas if Pereira wins, it’s like, well, you’ve beaten one guy, you’ve probably gotta beat some more. So, if Strickland wins, there’s a clear cut fight that we can have eight weeks later hopefully.”