UFC 281: Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira have an intense face-off at the Empire State Building
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira engaged in an incredibly intense staredown with one another ahead of their highly-anticipated fight at UFC 281.
'The Last Stylebender' faced off with his archnemesis Pereira at the top of the iconic Empire State Building in Midtown Manhattan, New York.
While the promotional segment witnessed both fighters be cordial, 'Poatan' took a jibe at Adesanya by suggesting that he'd "speak" on fight night. Pereira, who's widely revered for his intensity both inside and outside the combat sports realm, is a man of few words. However, leading up to his upcoming fight, the Brazilian combat sports veteran has taken multiple jabs at 'Izzy.'
Midway through their face-off at the top of the Empire State Building, Israel Adesanya appeared to put forth some lighthearted banter. The Nigerian-born New Zealander jestingly suggested that he was unaware that their face-off had begun. Adesanya stated:
"Oh, this is the face-off? Oh, sh**."
The 35-year-old Pereira responded by seemingly indicating that he didn't speak English. He then took a dig at the 33-year-old Adesanya by warning him that he'll speak on Saturday, the day they clash inside the octagon. Conversing with his translator in his native language, Brazilian Portuguese, 'Poatan' proceeded to speak with Adesanya in English and said:
"Saturday, I speak."
Watch the verbal exchange between Adesanya and Pereira in the video below:
Michael Bisping on why Israel Adesanya wants to "have fun" against Alex Pereira at UFC 281
Alex Pereira has defeated Israel Adesanya twice in the sport of kickboxing -- via unanimous decision in their first encounter in 2016 and by third-round KO in their rematch in 2017. Their trilogy fight will be an MMA bout contested under the UFC banner. UFC middleweight champion Adesanya will defend his title against Pereira at UFC 281, at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York on Saturday, November 12th.
Don’t forget Alex Pereira is the only person to ever KO Israel Adesanya 😤
https://t.co/jYCuPl83Vv
In an edition of the Believe You Me podcast, Michael Bisping addressed the matchup and lauded Israel Adesanya for his optimistic outlook towards the Alex Pereira trilogy showdown. 'The Count' harked back to his own victories over Cung Le in 2014 and in his rematch against Luke Rockhold in 2016.
Michael Bisping opined that he performed well when fighting relaxed in his aforementioned matchups. Similarly, he believes Adesanya will fight to the best of his abilities, as the latter's looking to "have fun" against Pereira despite having lost to him twice. Bisping explained:
"If you can separate yourself from the seriousness of the situation and you can allow yourself to be having fun, you perform so much better... You let go of that tension and you don't mindfu** yourself because it's so important to you."
Watch Bisping's assessment in the video below: