Alex Pereira has sent Israel Adesanya a not-so-subtle message ahead of their UFC 281 title fight.
Pereira will challenge Adesanya for the UFC middleweight belt on November 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. With just a few days to go before the much-awaited showdown, Pereira is seemingly trying to give fans a preview of how he thinks the bout will unfold.
Taking to Instagram, Pereira posted a video of himself brutalizing Adesanya with strikes in a simulated fight in the UFC 4 video game. His post came with the caption, "Even the video game already knows."
Check out Alex Pereira's post below:
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In doing so, Pereira seemingly spoils the fact that he's about to be added to the video game by accident. UFC newcomers Bo Nickal and Raul Rosas Jr. have also been announced as upcoming additions to the EA Sports game.
Check out the tweet below:
As far as kickboxing matches go, Pereira owns two victories over the reigning UFC middleweight kingpin. He edged 'The Last Stylebender' in their first meeting by way of decision, and knocked out the Nigerian-born Kiwi during their rematch. However, UFC 281 will be their first fight under MMA rules.
"F*** the belt" - Israel Adesanya on fighting Alex Pereira at UFC 281
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is motivated by the challenge of facing Alex Pereira. He also pointed out that he could care less about the belt at this point in his career.
Adesanya will look for his sixth successful title defense when he takes on Pereira later this month. But his main goal, according to Adesanya, is to avenge his losses to the heavy-hitting Brazilian. During an episode of his YouTube vlog, Adesanya said:
"Beating him, that’s what matters. Like, the belt? F*ck the belt. Just beating him, a killer like him, that’s what matters."
'The Last Stylebender' also claimed that he rewatched his fights against Pereira to study where he went wrong. With that said, Adesanya vowed to show a different version of himself come fight night.
“We’ve dusted that off, we’ve cut it off, and I can see what I did wrong. So, it’s not gonna be like last time. This is a different fighter you’re facing, and now I’ve become another fighter. I’ve re-birthed myself. I’ve re-birthed it, and I just feel like I want to have fun."
Watch Israel Adesanya's vlog below: