Head coach of Israel Adesanya, Eugene Bareman is not upset with the ref’s stoppage at UFC 281.
UFC 281 saw longtime UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya fall to his rival Alex Pereira. Although it seemed as if Adesanya was winning the majority of the fight, Pereira was able to land the TKO in the fifth and final round to become the new champion. Following the bout, many people believed that the stoppage was a bit too early and that veteran referee Mark Goddard should have let the fight continue a bit longer.
Adesanya himself said he thought the stoppage was a little premature but in the end did not blame Goddard for the call. He is interested in a rematch and did not hold any hard feelings afterward. He showed up to the press conference following the event and was humble in his defeat.
Eugene Bareman reflects on the Adesanya stoppage at UFC 281
Prior to the UFC 281 event, City Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman spoke bout his team and the strict nature of their training camp. He believed that his fighters, four of which were fighting on the UFC 281 card, were all prepared for war. Adesanya and Brad Riddell both lost their fights, but Bareman is not reflecting on the losses, he is just glad his team is okay. He spoke about the nature of the stoppage in the Adesanya fight in an interview with Combat TV.
“I can’t sit here and truthfully say that that was an early stoppage. I believe it was. I’m happy with the stoppage. Personally, I’m happy with the stoppage,” he said. “I feel that Israel was in trouble. With all my experience that I’ve had in the sport, I saw some signs that he was in trouble. And I felt that prolonging the fight longer than when Mark Goddard stopped it would have ended up not good for Israel’s health.”
Bareman has his team’s best interest at heart. He works with some of the best MMA fighters in the world out of his gym in New Zealand. He is thought of to be one of the best coaches in the world and knows that losing one fight is not the end of the world.
“I’m happy with the ref’s decision. And I could be wrong, but I’m just going on record and say that I’m very happy with the stoppage. And I’m glad that the ref did it. At the end of the day, we live to fight another day,” he said. “You never know what could happen if that fight had been allowed to progress. That’s why we have refs in there that need to stop it before it gets to a point where there’s no turning back.”
Dana White has not ruled out an immediate rematch for Adesanya, although there are other fighters pushing for title shots of their own. Most notably, Khamzat Chimaev has been vocal about wanting the next title shot against Pereira, sooner rather than later.
