Israel Adesanya was put through his paces by fellow UFC champion and teammate Alexander Volkanovski during a recent training session.
Adesanya, 33, is preparing to make the sixth defence of his middleweight belt at UFC 281 in New York on November 12 when he fights former kickboxing rival Alex Pereira. The pair have fought twice in kickboxing but never in MMA, as Pereira won a controversial split decision in their first meeting before brutally knocking out Adesanya in their rematch.
Both men are currently training at City Kickboxing in New Zealand, with a recent video has now emerged of Volkanovski briefly securing a takedown on Adesanya. The middleweight champion appeared to attempt a flying triangle, but Volkanovski quickly turned the submission attempt into a successful takedown of his own as the pair then laugh and shake hands.
Featherweight champion Volkanovski doesn't have a fight lined up but, like Adesanya, has already defended his title twice this year. 'The Great' knocked out UFC veteran The Korean Zombie in April before outpointing Max Holloway in their trilogy fight on the same card that Adesanya defended his belt against Jared Cannonier. Volkanovski currently sits top of the UFC's pound-for-pound rankings, whilst Adesanya is one spot below him at No.2.
Adesanya, who has never lost when competing at middleweight in the UFC, has been bulking up for his upcoming title fight with Pereira. He tipped the scales at 98kg just under seven weeks out from the upcoming title fight, but it's nowhere near as much as 'Poatan' who weighed 105kg last month. Both men, who have never missed weight in their MMA careers, will need to weigh no more than 84kg for their middleweight title clash in mid-November.
Who wins at UFC 281 - Israel Adesanya or Alex Pereira? Let us know your prediction in the comments section below
'The Last Stylebender' cited Disney's 2013 film Frozen when taunting Pereira during the UFC 276 press conference in July. Looking to avenge his loss to the Brazilian in their upcoming trilogy fight, Adesanya said: "Trust me, he knows I put him on skates last time and this time, when i put you on skates I'm going to leave you frozen like Elsa."
Pereira's fight against Adesanya marks a full circle moment for the Brazilian, as it will be almost a year to the date that he made his UFC debut and he also fights Adesanya in the same arena as his inaugural fight for the promotion. 'Poatan' said he's been watching Adesanya for the past three years, telling MMA Hoje :
"Two years before signing [for the UFC], I already wanted to join the promotion. I won’t say I’ve been studying him specifically, but I’ve been watching him, his behaviour. The way he moves, the way he fights."
