"I can feel it just from the guts" - Israel Adesanya references James McAvoy from 'Split' as he highlights instances where he's had to tame the "beast" inside of him

Israel Adesanya is gearing up to face his old kickboxing rival Alex Pereira this weekend at UFC 281. 'The Last Stylebender' recently shed some light on his psychological processes and described how "the beast pokes its head out" at times.

Sitting down with Luke Thomas for Morning Kombat, Adesanya was asked about his cold stare at Pereira during the UFC 276 pre-fight press conference. Adesanya stated:

"I was just in the moment. I was in that moment at the time. Sometimes the beast can poke its head out and I have to reel it back in... I feel that in every fight camp. It started happening a long time ago. The most prominent one was the [Paulo] Costa fight, and I was really practicing patience in that one. My body was ready to go, my mind was ready to go."

Elaborating further on his mentality before the fights, Adesanya likened his inner 'beast' to the one described by James McAvoy in the popular film 'Split':

"He [James McAvoy] talks about the beast and the beast will sometimes poke its head out... I can feel it just from the guts and your instincts. Your body is just primed and ready for war... I'm going to war, but I have to remind myself to chill."

Watch Israel Adesanya's full interview below:

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Israel Adesanya shares details of his training as he prepares to face Alex Pereira at UFC 281

Israel Adesanya has to be more than just physically prepared for his upcoming fight against Alex Pereira at UFC 281 on November 12. The Nigerian-born New Zealander opened up about his training camp and the preparations for his sixth title defense.

Speaking to Combat TV in October, Adesanya stated:

"The last three weeks have been work, work, so I know what's going to happen. I know what we have to do... to get the job done because we [City Kickboxing teammates] are fit. I can tell you that much - we're fit. We're already great fighters but we're really fit right now."

'The Last Stylebender' also spoke about his mental preparation for this fight:

"My mentality is already strong. For me, it's not the technique, but the game plan if you want to say that. I like the game plan we have. A and B. I'll stick to A, but if we need to go to B - and I can freestyle as well, that's my thing, so I'm ready for whatever."

Catch Israel Adesanya's full interview below:

Alex Pereira has previously beaten Israel Adesanya on both the occasions they faced each other in kickboxing.