John McCarthy talks about how Israel Adesanya might be affected by three losses to Alex Pereira

Israel Adesanya will attempt to reclaim the UFC middleweight championship when he faces Alex Pereira at UFC 287 in April. Former UFC referee John McCarthy discussed how the former champion's three losses to his opponent, two of which came in kickboxing, will play a role in the upcoming title bout.

Speaking on his podcast, WEIGHING IN, the mixed martial arts analyst stated:

"A guy beats you. Now, the first one in kickboxing, you look and you go, 'I don't think I lost that'. Okay, but then he goes and he starches you, so you got that loss and there's nothing you can say, hey it happens. Then, you have an MMA fight and you're doing well, and he puts you out again. Tell me it's not in the back of your mind. Tell me it's not in the back of your mind, Josh Thomson, you know it is."

McCarthy's co-host and former UFC fighter Josh Thomson responded:

"It's absolutely in the back of your mind, John, but then also what's in the back of my mind is, 'You remember', I think at the end of round two, 'where I had you on stilts and you were saved by the bell. Do you remember that? Do you remember that when I put you on stilts?'"

While Adesanya has suffered three losses to Pereira across two separate sports, his confidence has not wavered. He will look to reclaim his throne at UFC 287 by finally conquering his rival.

Watch John McCarthy and Josh Thomson discuss Israel Adesanya's mindset after three losses to Alex Pereira below (starting at the 7:08 mark):

Israel Adesanya releases trailer for UFC 287

While Israel Adesanya has not defeated Alex Pereira in their three meetings, it is not as if he has been dominated. In the first meeting, many believed that the former UFC middleweight champion was victorious, while in the latter two meetings, Adesanya was headed before being finished late in the fight.

With the pair set to meet for the fourth time at UFC 287, 'The Last Stylebender' released a trailer for the bout, inspired by the 'Saw' film franchise. Adesanya captioned the post, shared to his Twitter account, thus:

"🌴🐉🌴In this game, we don’t keep score…we settle them. #insertcointocontinue #UFC287 #wegoagain 😤"

Adesanya will look to overcome Pereira and re-establish himself as the greatest middleweight in mixed martial arts. Meanwhile, his opponent will look to defend his title for the first time before potentially moving up to light heavyweight.

Check out Israel Adesanya's UFC 287 trailer below: