Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira rematch: Strength coach breaks down how 'Izzy' is training to be "powerful as a sniper"
Israel Adesanya's return to the octagon will come at UFC 287 as he looks to reclaim the middleweight title from Alex Pereira. Abiola Beckley, the strength coach of the No.1-ranked middleweight, recently broke down his training as the fight approaches.
Speaking on Adesanya's YouTube channel, ENGAGE, Beckley stated:
"The way Izzy fights is the way I train him to get powerful. There's no point training Izzy to get powerful the way someone else fights. Right now, we're just going to do some high, heavy lunges and then we're going to do some specific movements to get his punching power."
Beckley continued:
"It's going to get him stronger there and less contact on the floor because when he hits, he's a sniper so I'm going to train him to be powerful as a sniper so that even when he's just throwing stuff at you at 60 percent, there's still more damage than usual. That's the infinite."
Check out Israel Adesanya's strength coach's comments on his training below (starting at the 9:41 mark):
Israel Adesanya will look to reclaim the middleweight title after losing it to Alex Pereira at UFC 281. 'The Last Stylebender' had held the title for over three years, defending it five times before his loss to 'Poatan.'
Israel Adesanya's return: 'The Last Stylebender' reveals his goal for UFC 287
Israel Adesanya will fight as the middleweight challenger for the first time since UFC 243, where he defeated Robert Whittaker to claim the title. 'The Last Stylebender' recently shared that winning back the title is not his biggest motivation at UFC 287. Speaking to the media ahead of UFC 284, the No.1-ranked middleweight stated:
"I've never not been motivated to fight this guy, but for this one, I've put the pressure on myself. F**k the belt, f**k everything else, I have to beat this guy. That's, I guess, my motivation - just beating him. Like I said, they can say whatever they want. It's 1-0 or 3-0. I don't keep score, I settle them and I just need one and I'm going to get it done."
Check out Israel Adesanya's comments on UFC 287 below (starting at the 1:45 mark):
In addition to his loss at UFC 281, Adesanya was previously defeated by Pereira in two separate kickboxing matches. Despite the three losses to his opponent, Izzy remains the betting favorite at UFC 287 as all three bouts were closely contested.