Miami, FL – The once former UFC middleweight king Israel Adesanya returns looking to regain his throne once again from the man who took the title from him, but this time at UFC 287 in the headliner.
Adesanya will look to take his crown back from champion Alex Pereira as the top fight in Miami, FL and he says he will remind those who forgot who he really is.
“This is probably the greatest storyline in MMA history. It’s probably one of if not the greatest story line in MMA history. Not many people get the opportunity to show how great they are, to rise to the occasion, when all the odds are stacked against them. When people are counting them out. And for me this fight I feel like the underdog. I feel like everyone’s counting me out,” Adesanya told reporters on Wednesday.
“I feel like because of the results of the last fight people just like, you know, goldfish memories. They forgot what I’ve done in this game. They forgot who I am. And it’s time to remind people how great I am.”
Adesanya (23-2) said this is the greatest storyline, or one of the greatest, in MMA history due to how long it’s been going and through different venues.
“It’s spanned across years, across two different combat codes, spanned across different countries. The history of matchups with me and Alex, given in the way that in his head he’s the protagonist, in my view my POV I’m player one. I’m the protagonist, he’s the antagonist, and I’m just doing so much better in life,” he said.
“He kept on trying to chase what he already had and then got to this point. I made it easy for him to get to the title. I didn’t make it easy for him to get the title, but to get to the title I made it easy for him because he already had that win over me in kickboxing.”
Making it easy for ‘Poatan’ to get to the title meant that Pereira got to go to the head of the line without going through some of the best at 185-pounds, according to Adesanya.
“So he dodged all the gauntlet. I didn’t dodge the gauntlet. I went through every different style you could to get to this point. Sambo guys, jiu jitsu guys, wrestlers, strikers, MMA guys. So yeah it was an easy layup,” he said.
“But now this is the point where it’s like I’m down two fights in kickboxing, one fight in MMA…so yeah I’m down three. This is my Eminem moment, my 8-Mile moment, you know. Get one shot do not miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime.”
The mentality that this is his one chance may be what pushes the former middleweight champion to get back on top with the belt and get revenge on his rival.
“This is it. This is it for me. Imagine what if I get it done? What if I get it done better than he’s ever done it? What if I butcher him and beat the f*ck out of him? Because I always do, but I just ramp it up now. And I don’t let him get any breath and I take him out,” Adesanya said.
“I put him on his back. I do all this sh*t and I beat his ass. Like I said I don’t keep score, I settle them. And he who laughs last, laughs best.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Israel Adesanya above. He headlines UFC 287 against Alex Pereira for the UFC middleweight title on April 8th in Miami, FL.
