Israel Adesanya's coach wanted the UFC star to take a break before pursuing his rematch with Alex Pereira.
'The Last Stylebender' lost his UFC middleweight crown to long-term rival Pereira late last year after being stopped in the final round of their encounter. Adesanya stated his intention to pursue an immediate shot at revenge despite the nature of his defeat.
However after talks were held shortly after his loss, Adesanya had his second meeting with 'Poatan' confirmed for April 9 in Miami. But his trainer Eugene Bareman believes he could have benefitted from the fight being scheduled in May or June but they will be prepared for the sharp turnaround nonetheless.
“If I had a choice, which I quite often don’t, then I would probably have waited longer just to give Israel a little bit more time between a stoppage like that and the next fight,” Bareman said during an appearance on the MMA Hour when assessing Adesanya's mission in April. “Even in an ideal world I would have done what they do in boxing. I would have brought in a couple of guys for Israel to warm up on and then fight [Pereira].
"In the UFC, we don’t have that choice and, quite frankly, Israel is 100 percent adamant that he must be the next person to fight Alex Pereira. Beyond all doubt. I would have been happy with May, June, but give or take, I’m okay with the timeline that we have. Izzy has been training for a while now, so we’re in our usual frame of mind and our usual state.
"Before Israel had his surgery and everything, Israel was prepared to take the [previous] fight on four to five weeks’ notice if Pereira was willing to take the fight. We’re calculating the days as they go by and monitoring the progress and we’re in an okay spot. We’re always in an OK spot this far out. We’re always in a spot where I want more to happen, so I push for more to happen."
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Adesanya is confident he can overturn the defeat and regain his title, despite having also lost twice to Pereira during their kickboxing careers prior to reaching the UFC. A win for the Nigerian will put him back on track in his UFC trajectory, and he believes that there was no time to waste before accepting the call.
“I’m not one of these guys who just chills,” Adesanya told The MacLife. “I can duck this guy or wait for this guy or wait for this guy to do this. Nah. Who’s ready to fight? I roll the dice. “He’s got bragging rights. I got the opportunity to claim it back, but I’m going to say less and do more. After this fight, I bet you he’s going to move to 205 (pounds). So this is my shot, and this is why I’m putting everything into this."
