Israel Adesanya received a "ruthless" speech from his coach which he deemed not "necessary" ahead of his UFC fight with Alex Pereira.
'The Last Stylebender' will defend his UFC middleweight title against one of his toughest challengers yet in the shape of former two- time kickboxing rival Alex Pereira at Madison Square Garden. The UFC 281 clash will represent a huge shot at redemption for Adesanya who lost to the Brazilian twice in 2016 and 2017 with the latter by KO.
In recent fights, Adesanya has faced heavy criticism from other fighters and fans who have accused the champion of making "boring" contests with no stoppage in his last three wins. And his City Kickboxing coach Eugene Bareman has adopted a strict and aggressive training method, which Adesanya believes has paid off.
