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Adesanya's coach did not want an immediate fight against Pereira but the style bender wanted to banish his demons.
New Zealand professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer of Nigerian descent Israel Adesanya wanted an immediate rematch after losing the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Back in November 2022, Adesanya was knocked out by Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer Alexsandro Pereira back at Madison Square Garden.
Following his loss, there were reports that Adesanya would take some time off from the UFC.
However UFC president Dana White put all doubt away announcing an immediate rematch between Adesanaya and Pereira.
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Adesanya's coach opposed to immediate rematch against Pereira
Adesanya and Pereira have a history before their fight in the UFC.
Pereira defeated Adesanya twice in kickboxing tournaments back in 2015 and 2016.
The Brazilian came to the UFC will the sole aim of defeating Adesanya once again in MMA and was able to accomlish it.
The UFC decided to cater to the demands of the fans for a rematch between Perieira and Adesanya celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Adesanya's coach Eugene Bareman has now come out to say his ideal scenario would have been taking a step back before a rematch against Pereira later in the year.
Bareman gave his assessment of the rematch between Adesanya and Pereira during an appearance on MMA Hour.
The coach wanted the rematch against Perirra later, while the UFC wanted it sorted out in the first half of the year.
He said, “If I had a choice, which I quite often don’t, then I would probably have waited longer just to give Israel a little bit more time between a stoppage like that and the next fight.
“Even in an ideal world I would have done what they do in boxing. I would have brought in a couple of guys for Israel to warm up on and then fight [Pereira].
"In the UFC, we don’t have that choice and, quite frankly, Israel is 100 percent adamant that he must be the next person to fight Alex Pereira. Beyond all doubt.
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“I would have been happy with May, June, but give or take, I’m okay with the timeline that we have. Izzy has been training for a while now, so we’re in our usual frame of mind and our usual state.
"Before Israel had his surgery and everything, Israel was prepared to take the [previous] fight on four to five weeks’ notice if Pereira was willing to take the fight.
“We’re calculating the days as they go by and monitoring the progress and we’re in an okay spot. We’re always in an OK spot this far out. We’re always in a spot where I want more to happen, so I push for more to happen."
The style bender since the fight has been announced has stated that he is motivated to defeat Poatan for the first time in four outings rather than the opportunity of reclaiming the UFC middleweight title.
Adesanya will take on Pereira for the second time in MMA as the headline event of UFC 287 scheduled for Miami on Sunday, April 9, 2023.
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