Before Jiří Procházka got his topknot crooked at UFC 303, he accused Pereira of using “magic” and “spells” to win their previous fight, which is as hilarious as it is bizarre. But if true, Pereira’s GOAT resume could benefit from a spell that gives Izzy the courage to give 205 a second chance.

In 2021, after a decision loss in his debut light heavyweight fight against then-champion Jan Błachowicz, Adesanya uttered one of his favorite idioms: “Dare to be great.” It’s a saying he’s repeated ever since, sometimes followed by an affirmation: “And that’s me.” He said this at a time in his career when language was its own kind of magic, a narrative force so powerful that he would turn the world into a manga page and bend fate into the shape of the anime arc in his mind. But somewhere along the way, perhaps even before he got beat up by Strickland and choked out by DDP, Adesanya stopped daring to be big and now prefers to assume he’s already his.

Given the “last goal wins” attitude he’s adopted after finally beating Pereira in his fourth attempt in two sports, it’s clear, at least to me, what’s holding the two back from completing their MMA trilogy: Adesanya doesn’t want to part of Poatan’s entire power at light heavyweight. Despite being visibly more muscular than he was the first time he moved up, having absolutely no more interesting matchups going for him at middleweight, and possibly having a better chance against a striker at 205 than against a wrestler like Błachowicz, it seems the former champion content to avoid another fight with his nemesis. This, in turn, makes both of their claims to greatness seem a little less daring.

Certainly, Pereira’s move to heavyweight could and should happen with or without an MMA tiebreaker with Adesanya. But imagine how much more special it would be if it came after an ancient Brazilian ritual gave Izzy his former spirit and forced him to complete the greatest UFC rivalry in the modern era.