Whatever it takes.
That’s the mantra all fighters live by but then there are those who go to extreme lengths to get the job done.
Then there’s Israel Adesanya.
READ MORE: Broncos bust-up sparks star’s explosive declaration
READ MORE: Alarm raised by gun Indian team’s latest flop
READ MORE: Reason behind Dragons star’s shock retirement
Speaking ahead of his highly anticipated UFC 281 middleweight title defence against the only man to ever defeat the Kiwi-Nigerian champion, Brazilian Alex Pereira, Adesanya revealed a tactic he experimented to make weight during his younger years.
“When I was kickboxing when I was really young … I didn’t have the fight dietitian, the guy who looks after us with my meals and whatnot, I didn’t have him on deck,’ he said in an interview with Bleacher Report.
“I was not in the UFC … ah f— man … Okay, how do I put this … I busted a nut to make weight,” Adesanya said
“At the time I was young and I was on that whole no (sex) before a fight, before I knew it was a myth.
“And then yeah, a few grams came off, 100 grams.
“I made weight,” Adesanya confirmed with a smile.
“But I wouldn’t advise it. I was younger back then, 21 or 22, I didn’t know what I was doing with weight cutting and yeah, that was something.”
The bout with Pereira holds weight for both fighters.
For Adesanya, it’s a shot at redemption. Pereira is 2-0 against the New Zealand star, but in kickboxing, not the octagon.
Their first clash was a highly disputed affair at GLORY of Heroes 1 in China, a bout awarded to Pereira via unanimous decision in 2016.
Adesanya landed plenty of scoring shots, but the general reporting out of the fight suggested Pereira landed combinations and shots that damaged Adesanya.
However, the UFC champion has always maintained that he got the better of the Brazilian, who will fight for gold in his fourth fight for the UFC. Speaking ahead of UFC 276, he said:
“Who’s actually seen the whole fight? Hands up… That’s one, two, three people, four, five. In a room full of how many? Exactly, you’re journalists, do your f—ing job,” Adesanya said, via MMA News. “I f—ed this guy up in the first fight. Not crazy, but the judges gave it to him.”
In their second clash, Pereira faced Adesanya at GLORY of Heroes 7 in 2017, in his hometown of Brazil. “The Last Style Bender” dominated the opening rounds of the encounter, had Pereira on the ropes and looked set to avenge his loss until the third round, when the hometown fighter delivered a devastating shot to the chin that dropped Adesanya.
That was the first and only time Adesanya has been knocked out.
“It’s a beautiful story for him. In his backyard, down two rounds, in the third round he comes and knocks me out,” Adesanya said about the third fight. “It’s a beautiful story for him.”
That was Adesanya’s last bout in kickboxing before he joined the UFC in 2018, going on to record a 12-1 record with the promotion.
“For me, I’ve pretty much cleaned out the division and now I’m lapping it again. So I cleared the way,” Adesanya said.
“He should be grateful. He wouldn’t be here without me.
“My run to the title was a lot more impressive than what he’s done. So he should be grateful he is here because of me.”
Pereira claimed the New Zealander had been running from the fight, whingeing to the UFC that his run for a title shot is too short. The Brazilian claims that’s proof his KO win years earlier is still lingering in Adesanya’s mind.
“Originally when I came into the UFC, he said he wanted to fight me.
“But as soon as I started to fight people, they changed the narrative, they spun things around, started to run around and said ‘maybe I don’t want to face him again’.
“I think I screwed his mind a little bit.
“I think he’s a little bit unbalanced psychologically on this one.”
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here
