Israel Adesanya shares details of Alex Pereira's cornerman throwing 'throat-slashing' signs at him before the fight and how it gave him "the vibes"
Many expected Israel Adesanya to make his sixth successful title defense against Alex Pereira at UFC 281. However, the Brazilian stunned everyone by knocking out Adesanya in the fifth round to capture the UFC middleweight championship.
Appearing in a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, 'The Last Stylebender' looked back at his recent loss. While reviewing his fight, the Nigerian-born Kiwi also discussed his entrance to the octagon.
Adesanya, who is known for his vibrant walk-ins, believes it to be the "most in-the-moment place" for him:
"That's one of the most 'in-the-moment' places you can ever be. You can't be anywhere else but just that's just such a... I love that feeling. Especially when I knew when I came on screen...and at one point I just smiled like, 'Look at this guy,' it's cool."
The former middleweight champion also recalled how, upon entering the octagon, one of Pereira's team members threw him a 'throat-slashing' sign at the most appropriate moment, instantly getting him "powered up" for the fight:
"There's that movement... One of his coaches behind him was like [throat-slashing], and it was right at the crescendo of like the peak of the song, and I was just looking at him, he was just standing right there, this coach was doing that...and it just felt like I was in the movie... It gave me the vibes. I just got powered up!"
Check out Israel Adesanya recalling his entrance into the octagon at UFC 281 below (7:34 mark):
Israel Adesanya discusses a potential rematch with Alex Pereira
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira have battled against each other three times in their careers now. Despite Adesanya being a more capable and skilled fighter, 'Poatan' has got the better of the former champ.
Despite losing three previous meetings to Pereira, Adesanya appears confident in his plans to make their rematch a "bloodbath." In the same video, the 33-year-old stated that none of his previous losses to 'Poatan' would matter if he defeated him in a rematch:
"I made him bleed. To make him bleed...you can kill him. But this one, I wanna make it a bloodbath. This time if I just beat him from bell to bell, 30-minute a** whooping, finish him somewhere in between, all those three [past fights] don't matter. He who has the last laugh laughs best."