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“I’ll Be Damned” – ‘Prideful Man’ Israel Adesanya Confesses He Was Going to ‘Pull Out’ of the Alex Pereira Fight at UFC 281 but Refused To

Published 11/15/2022, 6:15 AM EST

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American stand-up comedian and host of his famous podcast ‘Flagrant’ Andrew Schulz is a friend of Joe Rogan. He recently sat down with Israel Adesanya for an episode of his podcast. The fighter revealed how he almost pulled out of the fight.

Madison Square Garden is a dream venue for all the performers. Something about the arena is so special that everyone wants to perform there. However, Izzy revealed how he almost pulled out of his fight with Derek Brunson at UFC 230 with 3 weeks left due to an injury on his right knee. However, after a cortisone injection and a few days off, he recovered.

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Before UFC 281, he faced a similar issue. He had injury concerns leading up to the fight, which made him question pulling out of the fight.

Adesanya reveals his injury concerns leading up to UFC 281

He suffered an injury to his knees from his last fight against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276. His PCL was hurt, which restricted the movement of his left leg. This caused problems earlier in his camp leading up to the fight. Because of this, he solely practiced boxing and grappling for 3 weeks.

But he did not pull out of the match against Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira. During the podcast, he said, “I’m a prideful man. I’ll be damned if people say I’m fuc*ing scared of this guy because I know I’m not.”

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As per his plan, he wanted to fight 3 times this year as a champion. Being young, healthy and in his prime, he believed it was the perfect time to fight right now. He was just 4 title defense matches away from Anderson Silva’s record of 10 title defenses record.

Israel Adesanya wants the rematch

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Contrary to what Alex Pereira said about Adesanya not wanting an immediate rematch, Izzy looks fired up for a rematch. Adesanya claims that Alex has no idea who he is. His mentality is ‘I’ll fight you till I beat you.’

He said, “I’ll be 60. I’ll come to your Favella, knock on your fuc*ing door with my walking stick, and be like yo you and me right now. Like we need to go.

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It will be a while before we might get to see the rematch, though. Adesanya wants to spectate the UFC 284, in Perth. He needs to heal and recover from the health issues he has. Yet he remains confident in his abilities to take ‘Poatan’ out the next time they face each other.

Watch this story – “And Now They Are Trying to Pull It Out” – Joe Rogan Left Concerned After Fighter’s Mel Gibson Technique to Try to Fix Shoulder Mid-Fight

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Written by:

Himakshu Keval Vyas

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Himakshu Vyas is a Combat Sports author at Essentiallysports. He is passionate about sports, with soccer and MMA being the sports he is most involved in. Aside from that, he follows the global soccer scene.
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Edited by:

Rohini Kottu