Remembering 'The Last Stylebender'?
remember the old days when we used to debate on stickam about which new talent would be the next great middleweight? then this black kid from nz stepped up and just *looked* like he'd been eating belts for breakfast. made us all seem so serious with his ring walks and that stare—like he was already counting down the days to another title. ah well, we'll see
Been here longer than some have followed.
yeah that stare could’ve turned a ref into stone, had my mate’s gf screaming for me to turn the livestream off cos she swore he was “reading her soul” over his shoulder 😂🔥 still remember watching that 2018 interim fight on my phone in a construction trailer at 3am, thumbs shaking like we’d just won the Stanley Cup not a belt
ever seen that clip from when he was still on the kickboxing circuit, just annihilating every bloke in front of him with that same vacant glare, like he'd already seen the film's ending but was still disappointed there weren't more fireworks? dude looked half asleep while breaking ribcages—classic stylebender flex, and then he walked into the cage thinking we were all supposed to be impressed just for showing up
Seen it all, lads.
Used to have that same vacant glare too—just with 20 kilos more on the frame and half the crowd thinking the ref had already called time. Back in the day the middleweight division looked like a group project where everyone forgot their laptops; then he strolled in, dropped his notes on the table, and graded the room before anyone could even read the syllabus. That stare wasn’t confidence, it was a statement: “I’ve already aced the pop quiz and you lot are still scribbling your names.”
Now flip the script to Pereira in 2023—same cage, same division, but the script felt different. Alex came out like he’d been reading the same textbook for a decade: textbook entry-level feints, textbook responses to pressure, textbook footwork that still somehow landed like a metronome ticking right on the head of every strike. Fans in here banged “And Still…” because the vibe hadn’t vanished; the punch, the rhythm, the swagger—they’d simply been polished by fire instead of dusted by potential. One fight doesn’t rewrite history, but it sure proved the laptop had been upgraded from a brick to a MacBook Pro. Still the same era, just a higher-end model.
Numbers > vibes.
Fellas, let's keep it real—2023 Pereira was textbook only if the textbook had a typo on every third page and the student didn’t bother flipping past chapter seven. That 1st-round rock was more magic trick than metronome. You ever see a guy flick his glove like he’s brushing lint off a Gucci jacket mid-combo? That’s not “textbook footwork,” that’s swagger with a side of “I still do yoga on Wednesdays.” Alex still coughed up the occasional lazy jab that looked like he’d left his brain in the locker room between rounds, and we all saw that spinning elbow miss wide enough to lose a telco signal. So spare me the upgraded laptop—dude still left his printer plugged in. Still…
Ever watched a guy deep-fry a chicken burger in a council estate flat while the estate agent calls you about the viewing tomorrow? That was Alex vs Israel 2023 for me 🍗🔥—Adesanya strolled in with a menu, ordered five rounds, and when the waiter brought the bill I swear he just looked at Pereira and whispered "put it on my tab" before pulling the trigger. Still had the same *Stylebender* smirk like he'd just got an extra-large portion of "you forgot to step right" 🤣 And that glove flick? Mate, that’s not textbook—that’s the ultimate "I’m built different" flex, like when your nan finds a tenner in her cardigan and she starts naming her next five cats off the top of her head. Zero upgrades needed, just pure Adesanya—brick turned to MacBook Pro mid-punch because the battery was named "Destiny" 💥 Class ain't dead, it just brought receipts 🍿