"F**k the belt" - Israel Adesanya reveals what motivates him for upcoming trilogy fight against Alex Pereira
Israel Adesanya will look to avenge two kickboxing losses when he meets Alex Pereira in a middleweight title clash at UFC 281. The UFC middleweight champion now claims that beating Pereira is more important to him than defending his belt.
The 33-year-old said in a fight camp video uploaded to his YouTube channel:
"Beating him, that's what matters. Like, the belt, f**k the belt. Just beating him, a killer like him, that's what matters."
Catch Israel Adesanya's comments (1:48) below:
Adesanya faced Pereira for the first time in 2016 under the Glory Kickboxing banner. 'Poatan' outpointed Adesanya to earn a unanimous decision win.
The two met in a rematch a year later where Pereira delivered a more decisive win. While Adesanya was initially outworking Pereira, 'Poatan' shut his lights out with his signature left hook in the third round.
Judging by their past record, Pereira is arguably the most likely contender to end Adesanya's dominant title run at middleweight.
They finally meet again in the Octagon 😱😱😱
We're counting down the days until Adesanya vs Pereira at #UFC281 🏆 https://t.co/gWnKOQw9Q6
Israel Adesanya wasn't seeking revenge against Alex Pereira but doesn't mind the opportunity
Israel Adesanya did not have revenge on his mind when he made the switch to MMA in 2017. Adesanya earned his UFC contract with back-to-back first-round KO wins and lived up to his reputation with a second-round KO win over Rob Wilkinson in his promotional debut.
Adesanya hasn't lost a single fight since, barring a failed bid to become a double champion against Jan Blachowicz. Having created his niche in the MMA history books, 'The Last Stylebender' claims to have come a long way from his KO loss to Pereira.
According to Adesanya, the lone KO loss of his career also made him stronger in different ways. However, he acknowledges that he has now been presented with the opportunity to rewrite history, whether he asked for it or not. He said in a recent interview with The AllStar:
“There’s a little extra motivation, definitely. Now that it’s here, I didn’t ask for it, the universe bestowed this upon me, and it’s a great opportunity to rewrite history."