Israel Adesanya reveals how Alex Pereira damaged his movement while watching first fight

Israel Adesanya's three-year middleweight title reign ended at UFC 281 when his former kickboxing foe Alex Pereira finished him in the last round.

Now gearing up for the highly anticipated rematch against 'Poatan' at UFC 287, Adesanya addressed what went wrong during the first fight while rewatching the footage.

Reacting to the fight on his YouTube channel, 'The Last Stylebender' stated that his mobility was severely compromised after sustaining a leg kick during the fight.

The Nigerian-born Kiwi seemed certain that the Brazilian struck a nerve with the kick, rendering him less slick than usual. Elaborating on the unfortunate moment, he said:

"[The leg kicks] were just like snappy ones, but I think the second one that landed properly, I stepped into it [and] I felt like the nerves got struck. Like a guitar chord almost, I just felt the vibration like an electric shock. I was still able to control the round and do what I do."

He added:

"In Round 2, I'm controlling, that's when my leg started to drag a little bit, my left leg. [I was like] what the f**k. Like [when] I was trying to plant it, and it felt weird. So I was against the fence a little bit more, he hit me a little bit more... His leg was compromised as well, but mine, he actually affected the movement by striking the nerve."

Catch Israel Adesanya's comments below:

Most viewers and pundits had Adesanya leading 3-1 going into the last round at UFC 281. However, a series of punches from Pereira during the round left 'The Last Stylebender' dazed, ultimately forcing the referee to stop the fight.

Watch Adesanya vs. Pereira 1 below:

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Israel Adesanya speaks about his mindset for UFC 287

Israel Adesanya has already lost to Alex Pereira thrice in his combat sports career. However, Adesanya is looking forward to finally getting his hand raised against 'Poatan' at UFC 287.

'The Last Stylebender' plans to approach the rematch as if it were his final chance to fight the hard-hitting Brazilian. Speaking about the upcoming fight in a recent video on his YouTube channel, he said:

"It's kind of poetic in a way, like I said, one life roll the dice. So it's my last shot, I'm going to give it all I've got. In every sense of the word."

Catch Israel Adesanya's comments below: