Israel Adesanya isn't one to easily let go of a grudge, as he proved after vanquishing nemesis Alex Pereira in their middleweight title rematch at UFC 287.
Their rivalry dates back to their days fighting in the Glory Kickboxing promotion, when the Brazilian won twice against the Kiwi-Nigerian, one of them via devastating knockout .
That night back in 2017 at Sao Paulo, as Adesanya shook off the cobwebs in his corner, Pereira son entered the ring and proceeded to mimic his dad's opponent toppling to the canvas with his lights shut off.
Fast forward seven years, moments after sending Pereira prone to the canvas with a pair of pinpoint rights hands to reclaim the title, 'The Last Stylebender' went searching the cageside seats, located Pereira's son - who was still traumatised by his dad's loss - and flopped to the mat, a nod to his antics all those years ago.
"I'm petty," Adesanya said after the fight. "I remember.
"The first time he knocked me out in Brazil, his son came into the ring and then just started to lie dead next to me. I'm like, ‘You f****** little a******, I'll whoop your ass, if your dad don't do it for you'.
"I looked for his kid, I pointed at him and I saw him, and I was like, 'hey, hey, hey', just to remind him."
Famed for his theatrics both pre and post fight, Adesanya's mockery came after he'd unleashed a trio of imaginary arrows at 'Poatan' as he lay unconscious, mimicking his trademark Octagon entrance.
Adesanya's choreographed entrance at UFC 243 - where he knocked out Robert Whittaker to win the belt in 2019 - has become iconic, while few will forget the way he mounted Paulo Costa, after destroying the Brazilian to emphatically end their war of words in 2020.
The 33-year-old laughed, when asked of the possibility of Pereira's son adopting the martial arts film trope of seeking revenge for his father, a suggestion that appealed to the anime enthusiast.
"If you can crawl, we can brawl," Adesanya quipped.
