Israel Adesanya’s coach reveals ‘Stylebender’ trained to stay in the pocket and exchange for 10 weeks prior to UFC 287

According to Eugene Bareman, the head coach of Israel Adesanya, the newly minted UFC middleweight champion dedicated 10 weeks of his training to improving his skills in staying in the pocket and exchanging punches with his opponents. Bareman revealed that Adesanya had focused extensively on this aspect of his game leading up to UFC 287.

Israel Adesanya delivered the phenomenal performance of a lifetime as he avenged his previous loss to his longtime rival, Alex Pereira, with a stunning knockout. In the midst of the fight, 'Izzy' found himself in a similar position to his opponent, with the champion, Pereira, throwing powerful strikes to gain control over the moment. However, according to Bareman unbeknownst to 'Poatan', Adesanya was meticulously prepared for this scenario through his strategic training.

The City Kickboxing's head coach revealed that the Nigerian-born-Kiwi had anticipated such a situation and had practiced extensively to counter it, using his opponent's aggressive momentum to his advantage. Adesanya's intense training and commitment to improving his skills enabled him to execute his plan flawlessly, resulting in a breathtaking knockout that left the audience in awe.

During a recent interview with Submission Radio, Eugene Bareman remarked:

"The whole Possum thing. That was him, but he knew, he had the confidence through what we'd been doing for 10 weeks to stay in that pocket and exchange.

And we let Israel Adesanya know about some of the holes that were there. Especially with the last fight, and he just took advantage of them. And then he was just masterful. Masterful performance."

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Israel Adesanya posts a video of Alex Pereira's youngster reacting to his father's KO at UFC 287

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya shared a poignant moment on social media when he posted a video clip of Alex Pereira's son, Alessandro, reacting emotionally to his father's loss by knockout at UFC 287. The clip captured the young boy's heartrending reaction as he watched his father's defeat unfold.

Adesanya, who had previously lost three kickboxing and MMA fights to Pereira, landed a powerful right punch that knocked the Brazilian to the mat.

'The Last Stylebender' and Pereira have a complicated history, with 'Poatan' previously emerging victorious in their previous encounters. However, Adesanya's gesture towards Alessandro highlights the complex rift between them.

The current 185-pound kingpin posted on Twitter:

"I’ve ruined Christmas 2023."