Israel Adesanya was extremely close to defeating his long-time rival Alex Pereira on UFC 281. At the very last moment, ‘Paotan’ unleashed fiery of punches on his opponent and secured the win. While ‘The last Stylebender’ tried to play it tough back then, his new confessions confirm the actual damage.
“I had some medical intervention [following the fight] Not just the fight itself, but I had a pre-existing thing that I had to sort out before the fight. Everyone goes into a fight with something, there’s always something [wrong]. [It’s] the way we train. The fight was going my way.”
“He hit my peroneal nerve so that’s why my footwork was compromised. ‘Cause I was wondering, even when I tripped and did the backwards roll, I had to do a roly-poly ’cause I was like, ‘S**t!’ I just tripped over and it’s not like me, so kudos to him for investing in those calf kicks. ‘Cause yeah, it cost me,” he added.
Adesanya’s coach Eugene Bareman also discussed the fight, “If I had a choice, which I quite often don’t, then I would probably have waited longer just to give Israel a little bit more time between a stoppage like that and the next fight,”
How is Israel Adesanya looking ahead of his next fight?
A rematch between the rivals has been booked for UFC 287, and this will probably be their last outing. If Alex wins this fight, then there should be an undisputed winner to this rivalry, and if Adesanya manages to secure the win, he can call it quits there and save some dignity.
Let’s not forget Adesanya was winning that fight until the last round. ‘Paotan’ is known for his vicious striking, and the Brazillian found his form in the last moments. If ‘The Last Stylebender’ can fight the trauma of past defeats and maintain his composure, he could finally win.
Who will you be supporting on UFC 287?
