UFC 281 In New York: Israel Adesanya Vs Alex Pereira Press Conference
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Vladimir Vladisavljevic
The UFC 281 New York brings two title fights, and there’s a lot of beef going on between the two halves of the main event, Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. The Brazilian left hook specialist has already scored two back-to-back wins over the Nigerian-born New Zealander inside the kickboxing ring.
Let’s see whether he can do the same inside the MMA Octagon on Saturday. Click here for more info on UFC 281 full fight card.
UFC 281 Media Day Best Moments And Statements
Israel Adesanya Vs Alex Pereira’s press conference and media day were fireworks. Some verbal bombs were thrown, so Thursday afternoon might be very interesting. Check the playlist below for the most entertaining moments.
Title Fighters
Israel Adesanya joked around, claiming that Alex Pereira “should be the favorite” for a “personal title fight”. Yet, “Poatan” believes that Adesanya’s still shaken by KO, and “won’t want to fight him ever again”. Oh, he plans to keep the belt too!
Wrestling phenom Carla Esparza believes that Zhang Weili “is underestimating her”. She says she’s not afraid of the Chinese knockout artist. On the other hand, Zhang Weili says she’s not afraid of Esparza either and predicts a spectacular KO in her title bout.
The Rest Of The Main Card
Dustin Poirier calls Michael Chandler’s fight “a bit personal, but just business”. On the other hand, Chandler was pretty respectful, and called Dustin Poirier’s boxing “the best in the UFC”.
Frankie Edgar announces his retirement after UFC 281 fight, and claims this is the last time he steps inside the Octagon. Chris Gutierrez says “there’s nothing bittersweet in retiring Frankie Edgar”.
Dan Hooker is ready to change fortunes after a proper training camp, while his opponent Claudio Puelles looks excited to take the shine off Dan Hooker in the main card opener.
Preliminary Card
Brad Riddell hopes to avoid another war with Renato Moicano, while Moicano looks ready to seize the moment against the New Zealand kickboxer.
Erin Blanchfield is cautious ahead of her bout with Molly McCann. She warns the elbow specialist “not to overlook her”. McCann looked a bit relaxed and said that “Conor McGregor dm’d her explaining how to handle the fame”.
Dominick Reyes talked about his defensive improvements following the KO loss to Jiri Prochazka – he says he’s “Dom 2.0 now”. Ryan Spann discussed an elevator run-in with Dominick Reyes before the bout.
Ottman Azaitar’s famous bag incident is still giving him a hard time at the presser. The Moroccan got grilled over “what was in the bag” on fight island. His opponent Matt Frevola says “he’ll do the job”, and advises Azaitar to be humble.
Andre Petroski said he called out Bo Nickal on numerous occasions. Yet, Wellington Turman says he’s coming well-prepared for the Petroski fight thanks to his teammate Dominick Reyes.
Julio Arce says he has unfinished business at Madison Square Garden, while Michael Trizano “feels no pressure” after back-to-back losses.
Where To Watch UFC 281 Press Conference?
The UFC press conference aired on Wednesday at 6 PM ET (midnight CET) on UFC’s official YouTube channel.
Adesanya Vs Pereira Statements
NOTE: ALL THE TRANSCRIPTS ARE TAKEN FROM VIDEOS!
Adesanya doesn’t look at the odds, but he scrolled on his smartphone on Tuesday and looked shocked because he’s a favorite over Pereira.
“I like (the pressure) on me. I saw last night, I’m like, ‘Why am I the favorite in this on the betting odds?’ I never check them but I just happened to see something on Instagram and I was like, ‘How the f*ck am I the favorite?’ I feel like we should change that. How do we change that or something, fake an injury? I don’t know. We’ll see. I think we should bet on him this fight. Yeah, we’ll just see what happens.”
Pereira looks ahead and says that Adesanya deserves a rematch, but claims he won’t want it after UFC 281 loss.
“It makes no difference who they want to put after (to challenge for the belt). He (Adesanya) deserves it, but after this fight, he isn’t going to want it.”
Despite Adesanya saying the match was personal for him, Pereira looks at his fight differently. He discusses some of the potential scenarios.
“No (it’s not personal), not for me. I will do my work and job like I would if I was fighting anyone else. I just focus on fighting for the title. …. I don’t know how he would possibly be over that (knockout). It’s still in his mind.”
“Anything can happen – many possibilities. Maybe Israel can go and try to take me down. If that happens, it’s going to be more of desperation instead of strategy.”
Stay tuned to NYFights for the latest UFC fight night news, we’ve got you covered! And don't forget to enjoy watching UFC 281 on Saturday!
