Israel Adesanya recalls going to "a dark place" before Alex Pereira rematch after David Goggins recollects getting emotional seeing ex-champ win
Israel Adesanya discussed his mindset prior to the Alex Pereira rematch after David Goggins revisited the former champion's win over Pereira. According to Adesanya, he was in a different frame of mind and was determined to exact revenge on Pereira.
Adesanya and Pereira have one of the famous rivalries in the promotion, which dates back to their kickboxing days. The Brazilian, who had already defeated Adesanya twice in kickboxing, challenged the latter for the middleweight title at UFC 281 in 2022. Pereira displayed his devastating power and dethroned Adesanya by securing a fifth-round knockout victory.
Adesanya then faced Pereira in a rematch at UFC 287 in 2023 and reclaimed his throne via a second-round knockout win.
In a recent conversation with Goggins on his YouTube channel, Adesanya opened up about his state of mind ahead of the Pereira rematch in response to the 50-year-old's emotional reaction to the former champion becoming a two-time middleweight champion. The former Navy SEAL said:
''Put me there when you beat Alex, cause you know what? I sat here and I've been in moments like that. And when you said what you said to the audience. They don't get it. I was all emotional and felt it because you kept coming after the demon. You kept coming. And how fast you went back after you lost. That was purposeful. I know that was purposeful.''
Adesanya responded by saying:
''I told Dana, I was like, let's run it back. And what I hate is when...the critics or anything were like, oh, he's scared. I'm like, bro, I fought this guy back to back to back. You think I'm scared?...And then that fight, that camp, I went to a different place, a real dark place.''
Check out Israel Adesanya's comments below (1:42):
Israel Adesanya wants Sean Strickland next
Israel Adesanya is coming off three consecutive losses. He lost his belt to Sean Strickland in shocking fashion back in 2023, and then got finished by Dricus du Plessis and Nassourdine Imavov.
In the aforementioned conversation with David Goggins, Adesanya voiced his desire for a rematch against Strickland, who dethroned him at UFC 293.
''I have a feeling who I want to fight. You'll like this one. I gotta get some get back. Strickland. I'm gonna get him back... Because he beat me...whooped my a*s badly... Everything he's done since that – because, I used to get bullied a lot as a kid. So, he's an embodiment of that in a sense. He attacked the young me, the inner child. So, I just want to protect him and get some get back for him." [8:25]