"Dan responded first, made some immediate adjustments" - Eugene Bareman reveals how 'just a bit of stubborness" made Israel Adesanya last to respond to strict changes at CKB

Israel Adesanya is one of four City Kickboxing fighters set to fight at UFC 281. He will be joined on the card by teammates Dan Hooker, Brad Riddell, and Carlos Ulberg.

City Kickboxing coach Eugene Bareman recently revealed that he had to make strict changes leading up to the event due to complacency. He detailed how his fighters responded to the changes.

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Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Bareman shared that he felt his team needed a push. He detailed how they responded to the changes made:

"Dan responded first and made some immediate adjustments and found that extra push that we needed," said Bareman. "Carlos responded next. Brad responded a couple weeks after that and the last to respond was Israel and that's probably got to do with just a bit of his stubbornness and the fact that maybe it takes him a little bit longer to understand what exactly is going on.

Bareman added:

"Don't get me wrong, I don't mean stubborn as in a stubborn person. Stubborn as in he needed us to push on him that we didn't think he was performing. He sometimes has a contrary view, but most of the time, he is wrong and we are right," Bareman continued.

It remains to be seen how the changes will pay off for Israel Adesanya and the City Kickboxing team at UFC 281. The middleweight champion will be looking to defend his title for the sixth time.

Watch Eugene Bareman's full comments below (starting at the 34:25 mark):

Israel Adesanya draws inspiration from Floyd Mayweather ahead of UFC 281

Israel Adesanya has been dominant in his UFC career, having never lost in the middleweight division. His upcoming UFC 281 fight against former kickboxing rival Alex Pereira, however, means much more than any previous matchup.

Pereira holds two kickboxing victories over Adesanya, including handing him the only knockout loss of his combat sports career. Due to this, the No.2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter has drawn inspiration from Floyd Mayweather ahead of this weekend's matchup.

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Speaking on his YouTube channel, FREESTYLEBENDER, Adesanya revealed that he is looking to channel Mayweather's mentality against Manny Pacquiao at UFC 281:

"When he fought Pacquiao, he said he got up from the seat for every round," said Adesanya. "He always just thought like, 'forget every other fight. If there's ever a fight I have to win, it's this one.' I felt that. That's me right now. If there's ever a fight I have to win, it's this one. That's why everything is different this camp. There's no excuses. If there's ever a fight I have to win, it's this one."

Adesanya will look to repeat Mayweather's success in his must-win fight. The undefeated boxing legend would defeat Pacquiao by unanimous decision.

Watch Israel Adesanya share the inspiration drawn from Floyd Mayweather below (starting at the 3:15 mark):