Francis Ngannou's coach claims Alex Pereira has "mind control" over Israel Adesanya

Francis Ngannou's coach, Eric Nicksick recently weighed in on the upcoming rematch between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya at UFC 287.

Nicksick spoke with UFC.com, where he broke down the matchup between the longtime rivals. He mentioned that he believes Pereira could have a mental advantage over 'Stylebender' because of how their previous three bouts ended and could use that to his advantage.

"I also think he's got mind control over 'Izzy', and I think 'Izzy' might come out overzealous and try to get a finish in this on because of what happened last time, so I think Pereira just has to bide his time, and make sure he forces 'Izzy' into those corner posts."

Nicksick also spoke about the former middleweight champion's approach to this rematch with 'Poatan.' He mentioned that Adesanya should be more confident with his striking rather than forcing himself to rush in and shoot for takedowns.

"Utilize your level change a little more in this fight, because he did show his hand in the first fight and they're going to assume you're going to come out and wrestle, so use that feint level change to start setting up some of the shots with your hands."

It will be interesting to see whether Adesanya switches up his gameplan entirely as he looks to avenge his losses to Pereira.

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Israel Adesanya shares what motivates him ahead of his rematch with Alex Pereira

"I don't keep score, I settle them." 😤

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Israel Adesanya opened up about his motivation ahead of his rematch with Alex Pereira at UFC 287.

'Izzy' will look to regain the UFC middleweight championship from his longtime rival, who has had his number dating back to their kickboxing careers. During his UFC 287 media day availability, Israel Adesanya mentioned that he is motivated to finally settle the score with 'Poatan.'

"I've put the pressure on myself like, f*ck the belt, f*ck everything else. I have to beat this guy. So yeah, that's I guess my motivation is just beating him. And like I said, they can say whatever they want, you know, it's 1-0 what? or 3-0. I don't keep score. I settle them and i just need one and I'm going to get it done."