Israel Adesanya has vowed not to "waste energy' in the build-up to his UFC title clash - as Conor McGregor did against rival Khabib Nurmagomedov.
'The Last Stylebender' will face one of the sternest challenges of his UFC middleweight reign when he takes on Brazilian KO artist Periera at UFC 281 this weekend. The build up to the event has been gripping given the pair's fiery rivalry which stems from their two kickboxing clashes, which the Nigerian lost by decision and then by stoppage in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
Adesanya has frequently vowed to stop his opponent in the same way he was stopped during their kickboxing days, and has traded verbal barbs with Pereira as the fight draws closer. However the 33-year-old has vowed to move on from his previous losses and focus on adopting his style in the fight.
"The Khabib-Conor fight. I felt like Conor [McGregor] used the wrong strategy," Adesanya told The MMA Hour when assessing McGregor's 2018 defeat to Nurmagomedov in relation to his own clash with Pereira. "If he had attacked that a little bit differently – because he was the closest to beating Khabib [Nurmagomedov] as well. There was a lot of energy wasted leading up to the fight but that’s just my observation, I’m not in their shoes. [Wasting energy going after Pereira] It’s stupid.
"What’s the point? He’s using that all right now. I guess I’m not like everyone else. The past fights they never annoyed me. It bothered me the fact that I didn’t stay true to my style. And then I was running out of money. I had seven more fights on my contract, I’m like, 'Just give me three, I need to f****** eat.'"
McGregor and Nurmagomedov, were involved in heated confrontations throughout their fight week. Despite showing positive glimpses in the fight against the undefeated Russian, McGregor was submitted in the fourth round which then sparked a mass brawl after proceedings were halted.
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The fight remains the highest-selling pay-per-view in UFC history, and Adesanya will be hoping for a similar response to his upcoming clash with Pereira. Adesanya has faced criticism in the build-up to this contest for his "boring" recent fights having failed to secure a stoppage in his last three outings.
But this time Adesanya has vowed to make life a "horror movie" for his rival, who has yet to lose since launching his UFC career three-fights ago. "I want to make this a horror movie," Adesanya told TMZ Sports. "I want to be the first person he sees when he wakes up. I want to make sure I'm right in his line of sight so he's looking at me."
