Israel Adesanya will channel Floyd Mayweather for Alex Pereira fight
Israel Adesanya plans to don a Floyd Mayweather-esque personality in his upcoming clash against Alex Pereira. On November 12, Adesanya will look to defend his UFC middleweight title against a man who has beaten him twice, which includes the sole knockout loss in the Nigerian-Kiwi's career.
Going into UFC 281, 'The Last Stylebender' plans to draw inspiration from Floyd Mayweather from the time 'Money' fought Manny Pacquiao in 2015. Mayweather earned a unanimous decision win over 'Pacman' in what was arguably the biggest fight of his career.
'Money' later said that he went into the bout with the feeling that it was the most important fight to win in his entire career. Revisiting Mayweather's comments, Adesanya recently said on his YouTube channel with somber music playing in the background:
"He [Mayweather] always just thought like, ‘Forget every other fight. If there’s ever a fight I have to win, it’s this one.' I feel that. That’s me right now. If there’s ever a fight, I have to win, it’s this one. That’s why everything is different this camp. There’s no excuses. If there’s ever a fight I have to win, it’s this one.”
Watch Israel Adesanya's comments on Floyd Mayweather below (3:15):
Both Floyd Mayweather and Israel Adesanya go to war next weekend
Israel Adesanya will face Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 281 in Madison Square Garden on November 12. Many expect this match to be the toughest test of the UFC middleweight champion's career so far. While Adesanya has previously come up short against 'Poatan' twice, albeit in kickboxing, the Kiwi is a much more evolved fighter now.
Meanwhile, Pereira earned a title shot against Adesanya with just three UFC outings under his belt. The Brazilian is known to pack lethal KO power and has already displayed it in his nascent MMA career.
Floyd Mayweather, on the other hand, will face YouTuber Deji in an exhibition boxing match at the Coca-Cola arena in Dubai on November 13. 'Money' has made a career out of exhibition bouts since he retired from pro boxing.
His opponent Deji started his boxing career with an amateur clash against Jake Paul that he lost. He went on to drop two more amateur bouts against Vinne Hacker and Alex Wassabi before making a successful professional debut against fellow YouTuber Fousey earlier this year.