Did Israel Adesanya change his gameplan for Alex Pereira? Coach unveils

UFC 287 marked the end of the long-standing Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira rivalry, at least for now. Adesanya has long maintained that, despite his three losses to Pereira, all he needed was one victory over the Brazilian to settle the score.

Israel Adesanya did just that at UFC 287, knocking out 'Poatan' cold in the second round. Adesanya's elation was evident after the victory, as he launched three arrows in simulation and broke the bow, perhaps symbolizing the three defeats he had suffered at the hands of Pereira across their multi-sport rivalry.

Israel Adesanya

@stylebender

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Like I said, one life…roll the dice.
You can have it laid out in front of them and they still won’t believe their eyes. Seeing is believing…believing is seeing. #theeyeschicotheyneverlie 🪬

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💘💘💘❤️‍🔥
Like I said, one life…roll the dice. 🎲🎲
You can have it laid out in front of them and they still won’t believe their eyes. Seeing is believing…believing is seeing. #theeyeschicotheyneverlie 🪬 https://t.co/P87OsTmRJE

Adesanya's triumph can be traced back to a well-executed strategy that relied on him taking control. Head coach Eugene Bareman reflected on Adesanya's victory and shift from usual gameplan in a recent interview with Combat TV. Shedding light on what changed in the rematch at UFC 287, he stated:

"Basically we needed Israel to be more aggressive. We wanted him to lead more and be better in the mid-range, where he used to be a master of, but he didn't need to be a master of [in previous fights] because he can just beat guys on the outside because they can't touch him. You can't do that against a high-level kickboxer anymore."

Bareman added:

"We had to bring back old things and bring them back to the table and unlock them and that's what he did. He did a fantastic job."

Catch Eugene Bareman's comments below (19:00):

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Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira: Eugene Baremen reveals that 'The Last Stylebender' had to revisit his kickboxing days for UFC 287 rematch

For Israel Adesanya, the months leading up to his rematch with Alex Pereira must have been excruciating since he had to descend into a dark mental place to taste vengeance.

Prior to their first MMA encounter at UFC 281 last year, Pereira defeated Adesanya twice in kickboxing. 'Poatan' defeated Adesanya via late TKO in the fifth round, extending his record to 3-0 against 'The Last Stylebender'.

MMA PROPAGANDE 👊🇫🇷

@MMAPropagande

Pour son huitième combat, il fera face au champion Israel Adesanya la troisième fois qu'ils se feront face mais la première en MMA. Le combat sera serré mais Pereira réussira à déborder Adesanya et à lui mettre un TKO lors du dernier round pour devenir le champion Middleweight.

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Pour son huitième combat, il fera face au champion Israel Adesanya la troisième fois qu'ils se feront face mais la première en MMA. Le combat sera serré mais Pereira réussira à déborder Adesanya et à lui mettre un TKO lors du dernier round pour devenir le champion Middleweight. https://t.co/rh66wpHyYU

In the same interview with Combat TV, Eugene Bareman discussed the strategy going into UFC 287, wherein Israel Adesanya was encouraged to revive certain aspects of his skillset from his kickboxing days:

"We needed Israel to discover a part of him that he had left behind. We had to go back to thirty or so fights when he was fighting high-level kickboxers... He's been fighting a lower level of opponents in terms of standup. He was able to get away certain things that you can't get away with high-level kickboxers."

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