Israel Adesanya has played a monumental role in introducing his gym ‘City Kickboxing’ to the world. Moreover, because of his consecutive title defenses and flawless performances, head coach Eugene Bareman also gains a lot of prominence.

The Last Stylebender has been with Bareman since the dawn of his career. And the duo have faced all the ups and downs of the middleweight champ’s career together. Furthermore, Bareman was also with Adesanya during his brutal KO loss to Alex Pereira. 

Now that the pair is set to face again at UFC 281, Bareman revealed what he told Adesanya after his loss to Pereira.

Adesanya’s coach lied to him, which helped him recover from his KO loss

In an interview, Bareman revealed that after the Nigerian lost his fight to ‘Poatan’ the second time, he took some time off from fighting before making his debut in MMA. Meanwhile, one of the major reasons why Adesanya took such a long hiatus from the sport was because of the lies that Bareman kept telling him.

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The CKB head coach said, “I’ll admit there would’ve been times when I lied about getting him a fight. He would’ve come back after three; it’s been a long time, but three months, six months, he would ask for a fight.”

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He added, “And I would’ve just said to him, I said, ‘Look, there’s no fight available right now. I can’t get you a fight. No one wants to fight you.’ And it would’ve been a bald-faced lie, but my lies had good intentions.”

What’s in line for Israel Adesanya?

Adesanya is set to defend his middleweight title for the sixth time against Alex Pereira at UFC 281. If Adesanya manages to emerge victorious in this bout, he would have defeated all the top six current middleweights.

Adesanya and Pereira have met twice before in the kickboxing ring. Now they will clash once again, but this time, in the Octagon. Furthermore, one of the previous kickboxing losses includes a devastating knockout. Despite two losses, Adesanya is uber-confident that he would win this bout. 

Moreover, he’s also come out and stated that he’s aiming for a finish. Meanwhile, this also cements the fact that this is a different sport, and he is more experienced in this realm of fighting.

What are your predictions for the fight? Let us know.

WATCH THIS STORY: WATCH: Five Times Alex Pereira Mocked Rival Israel Adesanya Ahead of UFC 281