"We have to put a plan together" - Israel Adesanya's coach says they "know what's coming" against Alex Pereira, but not taking Brazilian lightly
Israel Adesanya and his team are not taking Alex Pereira lightly ahead of the upcoming UFC middleweight title bout at UFC 281.
During a recent interaction with Combat TV, Adesanya's coach Eugene Bareman weighed in on the matchup and highlighted the potential dangers that 'Poatan' could pose to the champion. The MMA coach also stressed the need to implement a gameplan to tackle the Brazilian fighter.
"It's one of those old school kind of like matchups where there's a couple of specific weapons that are highly, highly dangerous and we have to put a plan to together to keep us out of danger, mitigate those dangers, take certain things away from him and then pose our plan."
Bareman added:
"He hasn't shown great diversity in his game but you never know like he could be working on some wrestling, like its MMA now so anything is possible. So we have to be ready, but for the most part, we kind of know what's coming."
Watch Israel Adesanya's coach discuss Alex Pereira below (starting at the 2:40 mark):
Israel Adesanya has had a largely unchallenged run as the UFC middleweight champion and many believe that his next fight will mark his toughest career test. This is obviously because of the storied rivalry between the two.
The Brazilian holds a pair of victories over Adesanya from their time in Glory Kickboxing. The first win came via unanimous decision in 2016, followed by a knockout victory in 2017. The two will now meet in a trilogy bout.
Israel Adesanya is set to defend his middleweight title against Alex Pereira at #UFC281 in MSG 🗽 https://t.co/9bOC6AxT2A
Robert Whittaker expects Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira to be a kickboxing battle
Several fans believe that a third meeting between Israel Adesanya and Alex Periera will play out similar to their battles in the kickboxing world. However, considering that the trilogy fight takes place inside the UFC octagon, the pair will have the freedom to mix things up.
It will also be interesting to see if either man decides to lean on some grappling, especially Adesanya, who is relatively more experienced as an MMA fighter. However, Robert Whittaker believes it will be a standup battle.
Speaking to the media at the UFC Paris pre-fight media day, the former 185-pound champion stated that he sees the fight as a kickboxing affair. Whittaker also pointed out the advantages that Pereira will have in the fight that Adesanya's former opponents, including himself, did not have:
"I do think it’s going to be a kickboxing fight with small gloves. You’ve got a rangy, tall defensive striker vs. a rangy, tall offensive striker. It’s going to be interesting. He’s very tall, and he’s going to have advantages in the striking department that myself did not have because just the distance he can reach and the length of his arms."
Watch Robert Whittaker discuss Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira below (starting at the 7:10 mark):