Israel Adesanya is drawing inspiration from legendary musician Eminem as he prepares for his highly-anticipated rematch against Alex Pereira at UFC 287 this weekend. Adesanya seeks revenge against Pereira, who snatched the middleweight title from him in a shocking fifth-round knockout at UFC 281.
Israel Adesanya’s “8-mile moment”
At the recent UFC 287 press conference, the Nigerian-born fighter referred to Eminem’s Oscar-winning film ‘8 Mile’ when discussing his upcoming rematch. Adesanya said, “This fight is my 8-mile moment. This is it. One more shot at this. I put everything on my back, everything in my power to do the worst thing to this man this weekend.” The movie ‘8 Mile’ depicts Eminem’s own journey of overcoming hardships to achieve success.
Alex Pereira remained unfazed by his opponent’s determination and the source of his inspiration. Speaking through a translator, he commented, “Who did this the past three fights? He said the same things… He makes me laugh”.
Alex Pereira believes Adesanya should have waited for the rematch
While many expected an immediate rematch between Adesanya and Pereira due to the close nature of their last fight, Pereira thinks Adesanya shouldn’t have rushed for a rematch. In their previous encounters in kickboxing and MMA, Adesanya has yet to secure a victory against the hard-hitting Brazilian.
During UFC 287’s media day, Pereira addressed Adesanya’s eagerness for another match, stating, “If he was on my team, I would tell him, ‘Man, don’t do this fight now.’ He’s had a brilliant career, but he saw there’s no success against me, so I would definitely advise him against doing this fight now. Fight once or twice, and then come back and try again.” The fighters are set to face each other this weekend, with both aiming to prove themselves in the high-stakes rematch.
