“Pressure’s on him” – Israel Adesanya reveals why he didn’t talk trash to Alex Pereira in the buildup to UFC 281 main event
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Israel Adesanya gave an interview on ESPN's First Take on Friday
Israel Adesanya doesn’t shy away from using trash talk to get into his opponents’ heads. Fans have seen this side of Izzy in many of his fights Paulo Costa is one of the best examples of it, with “The Eraser” even trolling back Adesanya.
However, that signature trash talk has been surprisingly absent from the buildup to his main event fight against Alex Pereira. On the other hand, the Brazilian has turned up the trolling to 11 as he attempts to mess with The Last Stylebender. In an interview on ESPN’s First Take, Izzy revealed why he has been relatively quiet during this fight’s buildup.
“If you want to see him beat me, go on YouTube. The worst has already happened, for any fighter. So I’m like, its gonna happen again, cool, whatever. Pressure’s on him, cause if he loses to me, all that he been talking, everything, he’s gonna pay for it,” said Adesanya. It seems Adesanya knows when to open his mouth and when to hold his tongue.
With the main event on the horizon, it seems Adesanya is taking a more passive approach outside the octagon. However, once those cage doors close, Adesanya is sure to come out swinging. The stakes couldn’t be any higher for what might be Adesanya’s 6th title defense.
Israel Adesanya talks about Kamaru Usman’s KO at UFC 278
Stephen A. Smith asked Israel about watching his friend Kamaru Usman, the former welterweight champion getting knocked out. He revealed that it didn’t affect him. He explained that it didn’t affect him because it wasn’t his fight.
“If you lose focus for a split second, it’s life-changing… When he got hurt like, even if Leon got hurt like that, I would’ve felt the same way. It doesn’t factor into it because that’s not my fight,” said the middleweight champion. In his mind, losing focus in a 5 round fight can have disastrous consequences and Usman did find that out the hard way at UFC 278.
Adesanya, who has also been on the receiving end of a knockout revealed how that had helped him. He said, “The worst has already happened, that lets me be free.” And having been knocked out before, Izzy made it clear that he didn’t fear it happening to him again. He will also be hoping that it doesn’t happen to him again on Saturday as he takes on bitter rival Alex Pereira.
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