Israel Adesanya is preparing to face career-rival Alex Pereira in next weekend’s main event at Madison Square Garden. The fight is one of the most anticipated matchups of the year and headlines a stacked UFC 281 card.
In the build-up to the bout, ‘The Last Stylebender’ was interviewed by TMZ Sports. When asked about his motivation for this fight, the middleweight champion explained why he is so excited about the matchup:
“I already know this has happened, in my reality. But he already knows what I can do to him as well, without a referee to save his a**. So that’s the exciting thing about this fight. We’ll find out, am I gonna get knocked out or is he gonna get knocked out?”
Israel Adesanya alluded to the two kickboxing fights that he has had with Alex Pereira. ‘The Last Stylebender’ was on the losing end of both fights, first via decision and then via knockout.
However, the fights were far more competitive than they were made out to be. Adesanya made reference to the fact that in kickboxing, the referee will step in to provide an opponent with a ‘standing eight count’ to see if they can continue. In MMA, there is no such thing.
Adesanya feels that without the intervention of the referee, he would have finished Pereira.
Watch the interview below from 1:40:
Israel Adesanya is confident about the game plan going into UFC 281 title fight versus Alex Pereira
Israel Adesanya is less than a week away from putting his middleweight title and his undefeated record at 185lbs on the line.
Adesanya was recently interviewed by Combat TV, where he spoke about the confidence he has in the strategy for this fight:
“Yeah, I like the game plan we have. [Plan] A and B. So yeah, I’ll stick to A. But if we need to go to B, then I can freestyle as well. That’s my thing. So yeah, I’m ready for whatever.”
Watch the interview below from 1:05:
Having lost to Alex Pereira twice in the kickboxing arena, Adesanya will be looking to set the record straight and prove he is still the king of the middleweight division.