Israel Adesanya wants 'Eminem moment' by butchering Alex Pereira and settling the score despite more losses

This Saturday sees Israel Adesanya look to reclaim the UFC middleweight title from the man who took it from him in Alex Pereira. The two stars will face off in the main event of UFC 287.

Despite Israel Adesanya being 0-3 to 'Poatan' in their 3 fights, he is confident heading into the bout.

The soundtrack to this victory, if you go by what ‘The Last Stylebender’ stated at today’s media day, would be an Eminem track.

Adesanya said that his rivalry with ‘Poatan’ could be one of MMA’s “greatest stories” and that he feels ready for his “Eminem moment” this weekend before quoting the rapper’s hit 2002 track Lose Yourself.

“I’m down three, and then this is like in every movie that...your one shot...this is my Eminem moment, my 8 Mile moment, you know? You get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow, this opportunity comes once in a lifetime.”

‘The Last Stylebender’ then asked the question -

“what happens if I butcher him...if I beat his ass?” before claiming that “(he) doesn’t keep scores, (he) settles them, he who laughs last laughs best.”

As most UFC fans will be aware, Adesanya has three defeats to Pereira on his record, with two of them coming in the kickboxing ring and one in the octagon.

If ‘The Last Stylebender’ can avenge those losses this weekend, it’s likely that fans will compare him to Rocky Balboa rather than Eminem. Of course, the lyrics from Lose Yourself certainly fit the former middleweight champion’s situation well.

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Could Israel Adesanya fall victim to the UFC’s so-called ‘Eminem Curse’ this weekend?

Based on Israel Adesanya quoting the Eminem track Lose Yourself at today’s UFC 287 media day, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him walk out to the song for his headline bout with Alex Pereira this weekend.

The lyrics to the track certainly fit Adesanya’s back-to-the-wall situation. However, some fans may suggest that ‘The Last Stylebender’ would be taking a huge risk by walking out to a song by the Detroit-based rapper.

According to some fans, the UFC has a so-called ‘Eminem Curse’ that suggests that whenever a fighter walks out to an Eminem track, they tend to lose.

Remarkably, one UFC fan has compiled a list detailing the results of every fight in the octagon to see a combatant use an Eminem track as their walk-out music, dating back to Tito Ortiz’s use of Mosh in 2005.

As of the time of writing, 113 fighters have lost after walking out to Eminem songs, while just 96 fighters have won in the same circumstances.

Some of the fighters who’ve lost after walking out to Eminem tracks include Nate Diaz, Dominick Cruz and Andrei Arlovski.

The last fighter to suffer the so-called curse was Andre Muniz, who used Lose Yourself as his entrance theme prior to his defeat to Brendan Allen.

Whether Israel Adesanya becomes the next victim of this curse will only become apparent this weekend when he settles the score with Pereira.