Getty Image / Jeff Bottari
We’re days away from UFC 287, as Israel Adesanya aims to reclaim his belt from Alex Pereira in their rematch.
This is actually the fourth time they’ll face in their careers, as Pereira has defeated Adesanya twice in kickboxing and once in the UFC.
For that reason, the former middleweight champion aims to make some noise on Saturday.
In fact, he believes this might just be his one shot to finally defeat Pereira.
According to MMA Fighting, Israel Adesanya compares this fight to Eminem in the movie 8 Mile. He even uses some lyrics from the rap song in his statement.
“I’m down two fights in kickboxing, one fight in MMA, so I’m down three, and this is like in every movie — your one shot. This is my Eminem moment, my ‘8 Mile‘ moment. You get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow, this opportunity comes once in a lifetime, and this is it. This is it for me.”
Their three previous fights have all been relatively close. In the first kickboxing matchup, many believed Alex Pereira’s victory was a controversial call from the judges.
Then, in their second brawl, Israel Adesanya was winning until Pereira found a way to finish the fight early.
UFC 281 was basically a repeat of what happened in their second kickboxing match. So, it’s not like Adesanya gets completely outclassed by Pereira.
Even so, it’s almost as if the former champ has his own boogie man. At least that’s how UFC star Chris Curtis sees it. Here he is breaking down why he thinks Alex Pereira is Israel Adesanya’s personal version of Michael Meyers.
Chris Curtis feels bad for Israel Adesanya because Alex Pereira is "like Michael Myers in the background of Izzy's life." 😭#UFC287 | Full video: https://t.co/F68qwk690r pic.twitter.com/AsmF6CesNQ
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) April 5, 2023
Although that’s how Curtis feels, Adesanya sees this more as an opportunity to rise to the occasion. During his interview with the media, the former champ got intense when talking about his upcoming fight, per MMA Fighting.
“He knows how dangerous I am. He knows I’m not an easy fight. He knows he’s going to have to go through fire and I’m going to make him fight for his life in this fight. But I said say less, do more. But we’re here, you put a mic in front of me, you expect me to talk — I’m really over all this s***. I really just want to fight. You guys want some words, I’ll give you words. I’m going to make him fight for his life. That’s not no trash talk, that’s no bulls***. I’m here to fight. I’m ready to go.”
Israel Adesanya is certainly utilizing an underdog mentality for his fight at UFC 287. We’ll see how it plays out. But Adesanya truly believes this is his 8 Mile moment.