Israel Adesanya is coming right for Alex Pereira at UFC 281.
This biggest UFC event of the year is just a few days away. UFC 281 will take place in Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. The main event features a massive bout between UFC middleweight Israel Adesanya and challenger Alex Pereira. These two have faced off twice before in kickboxing but this Saturday will be their first meeting inside the UFC Octagon.
Leading up to the bout, Adesanya had spoken about the relationship between the two and called the fight “personal” for him. He had given Pereira credit for his wins and allowed him bragging rights in the lead-up. Now Adesanya is relishing in the pressure and is out for revenge.
Israel Adesanya believes Pereira should have ended him when he had the chance.
Recently Adesanya posted a photo of himself and his team and used the hashtag Law 15. That is a piece from the book “The 48 Laws of Power” by Robert Greene. The 15th law is “To crush your enemies totally.” Adesanya spoke about the importance of this during media day.
“To crush enemies totally. If you leave any sign of life they will come back for revenge,” he said. “You should have killed me in Brazil. It’s my time now and I will crush you totally. Or maybe I’ll just jab and leg kick him, we’ll see.”
Adesanya has never been in a position where he is up against a man who defeated him twice before. He is taking the pressure that comes with that and using it to fuel him. His training camp was tough, according to his coach who had to become more strict on the team.
“The fact that we have that history and I feel, every other fight was important to me, this fight I just feel like when I’m standing across from him, each round I can just see it,” he said. “I’m getting the vibes. I like it. I like that kind of energy. I like it (pressure) on me.”
Adesanya went on to say that he feels he has always been better suited for MMA. He has improved immensely since the last meeting with Pereira. Although he has noticed growth in his opponent as well, Adesanya believes his traits and skills will allow him to be victorious on Saturday night.
