Israel Adesanya Finds Role Of The Hunter 'Tantalizing' (2024)

Nine consecutive opponents fell before a side quest to light heavyweight produced the first setback of his professional MMA career, but when he returned to the main game, Adesanya picked up where he left off, further solidifying his standing atop the division with three additional successful title defenses.

Order UFC 287: Pereira vs Adesanya 2

But seldom do you press “Start” on a game and navigate the world, complete the tournament, or take on every opposing team without suffering a setback, and this weekend, “Player One” is returning after running into a boss he just can’t seem to beat.

“To be honest, that plays directly into this,” Adesanya said when asked about rarely finishing a game on one credit or one life just days before stepping back into the Octagon with Alex Pereira in the UFC 287 main event. “Whenever you play a game and you lose to a certain character or certain battle, it’s back to the checkpoint or start again, but you only have so many lives before it’s game over.

“And this is my last life on this part of the game.”

While his loss to Pereira last November at UFC 281 may have been Adesanya’s first loss in the middleweight division, it’s not the first time he’s failed to get by the Brazilian powerhouse.

The two met twice during their kickboxing days and Pereira earned victory both times — first by decision, and then with a stunning knockout that appeared repeatedly on social media in the build to their highly anticipated middleweight title clash at Madison Square Garden last year. In the preamble to the matchup, Adesanya brushed off their previous history, drawing a distinction between kickboxing and MMA, confident that switching disciplines would bring him a measure of vengeance and a victory over Pereira.

Through the first four rounds, he was largely correct, as the two reached the final five minutes with Adesanya ahead 39-37 on all three scorecards, needing only to survive to the buzzer in order to retain his middleweight title, secure a win over his two-sport rival, and clear the level.

UFC 287 FREE FIGHTS: Jorge Masvidal vs Nate Diaz |Gilbert Burns vs Neil Magny | Rob Font vs Marlon Moraes | Adrian Yanez vs Tony Kelley

But once again, Pereira showed himself to be too powerful a level boss for “The Last Stylebender” to dispatch, pressing the action to begin the final stanza and securing the finish two minutes into the frame, forcing Adesanya to return to the last checkpoint and make another attempt to conquer the level this weekend in Miami.

As much as the middleweight challenger is locked into the here and now, Saturday’s main event and the opportunity before him really does connect to his past, in more ways than just the “Player One” approach.

See What's Happening In The Middleweight Division

Following his successful debut against Rob Wilkinson at UFC 221 on February 11, 2018 in Perth, the charismatic UFC newcomer cut a dynamic promo during his post-fight interview with Jon Anik that made it immediately clear what type of competitor had just touched down in the middleweight division.

“Middleweights, I’m the new dog in the yard, and I just pissed all over this cage,” he said before walking off, making it clear that he was marking his territory.

Then Pereira turned up and took that away from him, and he’s eager to get it back.

“Yes, definitely,” he said when asked if a victory this weekend carries a greater weight, greater significance for him than any of his previous conquests. “I have to get this done; there is no other way.

“I like when my back is against the wall, when I’m the underdog,” he added. “If you put a dog with its back against the wall, it’ll bite you and won’t let go.”

View Adesanya's Athlete Profile

“Time to remind some people whose yard it is?” I asked.

“Exactly,” he said, nodding. “The big dog in the yard.”