Israel Adesanya: “He should have killed me”

Israel Adesanya after getting knocked out by Alex Pereira in a kickboxing fight. Photo via YouTube

In the main event at Saturday’s UFC 281, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will clash with Alex Pereira in a five-round title bout at the iconic Madison Square Garden.

And the champion can’t wait to get revenge on his kickboxing rival Pereira.

“He should have killed me in Brazil. Now it’s my time, I’ll crush him totally,” Adesanya said in a recent interview during the UFC 281 media day.

Even though the champion has a lot of pressure on his shoulders, he can still joke about the fight.

“Or maybe I’ll just jab and leg kick him, we’ll see,” Adesanya laughed.

Read more: List of all current and former undisputed UFC champions

Israel Adesanya: “This is the one I have to win”

During his years in the promotion, Izzy fought the best of the best in the stacked middleweight division, including Robert Whittaker, Yoel Romero, Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa.

However, he feels that the upcoming grudge match against Pereira is the most important fight in his MMA career to this point.

“The fact that we have that history,” Adesayna said. “I can just see it, I’m getting the vibe, I can just see it. This is the one I have to win.”

In December 2017, it was announced that Adesanya had inked a deal with the UFC, and two months later he made his promotional debut against Rob Wilkinson at UFC 221. Izzy won the fight with a second-round TKO and the Adesanyamania began.

About four and a half years later, the 33-year-old will defend his UFC middleweight belt for the sixth time.

Read more: UFC stars and experts predicts Adesanya vs. Pereira: “Bad night for Izzy again”

Read more: UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira – Full Fight Card, Start Time & How to Watch

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