Former UFC middleweight title holder Israel Adesanya is confident that he’ll defeat long-time rival Alex Pereira on Saturday at UFC 287.
Adesanya, who lost the 185-pound title at UFC 281, wants to finish Pereira.
During a conversation with Nedd Brockmann, Adesanya explained he’s not focused on winning the middleweight title. Instead, his mindset is centered around knocking out Pereira inside five rounds.
“I’m the one coming in to take this guy out. Like I’ve said, f–k the belt, I’m coming to take this guy out. That’s my only goal,” Adesanya said. “Everything I’m doing is on this guy. I’m gonna get this guy out of there.”
Israel Adesanya Wants to Redeem His 2022 Loss to Alex Pereira
The Lagos, Nigeria native unified the middleweight title in Oct. 2019 at UFC 243, where he finished former champion Robert Whittaker in Melbourne, Australia. He went on to successfully defend the title five times against Whittaker, Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, Marvin Vettori and Jared Cannonier.
Last November, Adesanya (23-2) was on the verge of another successful title defense until Pereira secured a fifth-round knockout. It was Pereira’s third combat sports victory over Adesanya– first in the UFC. He defeated Adesanya twice in kickboxing.
Pereira, a 35-year-old from São Paulo, Brazil, is 7-1 in MMA and unbeaten in the UFC. His resume includes wins over Adesanya, Sean Strickland, Bruno Silva and Andreas Michailidis, to name a select few. He will defend the 185-pound title for the first time at UFC 287.
“The Last Stylebender” is now on a mission to prove the critics wrong by being the first man to knock out Pereira in MMA.
“I’m telling you, I’m putting everything into this fight. Nothing else matters. I just wanna crack this patience until I get to the point where it’s like, ‘Unleash me!’ I can’t wait,” Adesanya said. (h/t MMA News)
UFC 287 will be held at the Miami-Dade Arena in Miami, Florida.