Israel Adesanya has admitted he burst into tears following his unanimous decision victory over Jarod Cannonier.
The UFC middleweight champion will return to defend his crown against former two-time kickboxing rival Alex Pereira at UFC 281 this weekend at Madison Square Garden. Adesanya has faced heavy criticism for his recent performances at 185lb, having failed to secure a stoppage in his last three fights winning them all by comfortable decision.
He came under heavy fire for his under-par display against unsuccessful challenger Cannonier in July, which saw UFC fans threaten to stop buying pay-per-views for his contests. Adesanya has revealed he was upset with his performance last time out, particularly after pressuring himself to put on a big display on International Fight Week.
“I don’t hold on to things,” Adesanya told the MMA Hour when reviewing his previous display against Cannonier. “I let myself feel them. People try to deny things and block it, if you fight your emotions they’ll get you later on. So I feel it. I cried backstage. Me and [coach] Eugene [Bareman] hugged it out and he told me, ‘Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.’ "I was like, ‘Just give me a bourbon, I’ll be fine.’
"So I expressed it, feel it, and I let it go. It’s a good way to release emotions, it relaxes you. It’s just a normal human function, I don’t know why we shame it. [I was] upset at myself for what I wanted to do. People mistake it. This is not about other people. This is about me. I did the Undertaker walkout and I had this Miyamoto Musashi mentality like I’m going to make him wait, because I don’t think it’s going to last long.
"Then I get there and I’m a little bit frustrated during the fight trying to figure out how to take this guy. For me, it was just the pressure I put on myself because it was International Fight Week, I’m like, ‘Damn, I want to f****** take this to the next level after I smoke this guy.’ And I felt like I didn’t smoke this guy, but I beat him quite easily. Easily. So for me, it’s the expectations I put on myself, that’s what.”
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Adesanya will likely be presented with a much more formidable task against Pereira this weekend, with the Brazilian having beaten him twice during their kickboxing careers including once by KO. And the Nigerian believes it will be refreshing to match his opponent's aggression in the octagon.
He said: "I'm really excited to have someone, finally, who, after the first round or second round they realise they cant do s*** and [don't] just want to be defensive. I'm excited to have someone who's going to attack me and try and finish me. Is he going to get knocked out or am I going to get knocked out?"
