Eugene Bareman expects Israel Adesanya’s experience to help him regain the UFC middleweight title.
Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) lost his middleweight belt in a shocking unanimous decision loss to Sean Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) earlier this month at UFC 293.
Adesanya was knocked down late in Round 1, and was never really able to deal with Strickland’s pressure. But “The Stylebender” is no stranger to bouncing back. After losing his title to Alex Pereira by knockout at UFC 281, Adesanya rebounded in their rematch with a knockout of his own at UFC 287. Bareman credits Adesanya’s extensive combat sports experience for his ability to bounce back.
“This is not a normal athlete by any stretch – this is a unique athlete,” Bareman said in an interview with Combat TV. “I’m not talking about his physical and mental capabilities. I’m talking about over 100 fights at the highest level.
“No one else has these sorts of athletes because no one else has done the extensive work that we’ve done outside of MMA to gain this type of high-level experience. This is an athlete who’s seen everything, who’s had every type of game plan imposed on him, and every sort of adjustment, every sort of look he’s had in front of him.”
Bareman initially said they would only need a week to make adjustments. While he clarifies that he didn’t literally mean seven days, the City Kickboxing coach is confident that his star pupil can avenge his loss to Strickland if he’s awarded an immediate rematch.
“Sean brought something unique, and it was his awkwardness, and we thought we’d dealt with it,” Bareman said. “We have to do a better job at dealing with the style that he defends in and some of the intricacies he brings to the table. But, Israel’s seen everything. Not every athlete that gets to the UFC does – barely any of them do. None of them have 100 fights at the highest level.”
