Getty Israel Adesanya prepares to fight Marvin Vettori.
UFC superstar Israel Adesanya has expressed his desire to face Gregory Rodrigues inside the octagon.
Adesanya, reigning middleweight champion, is set to take on longtime rival Alex Pereira in the headlining bout of UFC 281 on Nov. 12 in the promotion’s grand return to Madison Square Garden in New York after a three-year hiatus. He goes into the bout looking to add another title defense to his record while seeking avenge against a foe who holds two wins over him in kickboxing, including a vicious left hook knockout.
In an appearance on internet sensation-turned-boxer Jake Paul’s show “BS w/ Jake Paul,” Adesanya shared his thoughts on whom he would like to compete against if he comes out on top of his nearing contest with Pereira.
“A good fighter actually I want to fight is the guy that – he kind of just fought not too long ago, ‘RoboCop’ is his name,” said Adesanya. “He’s a Brazilian guy. He had that gash, you cannot forget that gash. He had that cut. That guy. He’s solid, he’s a good fight. No beef, no nothing. I just think he’s going to come up to the top and I’d like to test myself against a guy like that.”
Rodrigues Suffered a Horrific Cut in His Last Outing
Rodrigues was last seen in action against Chidi Njokuani at UFC Fight Night 210 last month. He suffered a gruesome cut to his forehead but managed to endure it and knocked out his opponent in the second round. Company president Dana White shared the aftermath of the horrific slash on his Instagram account.
‘RoboCop’ detailed what was going on in his mind during the fight in the post-fight octagon interview.
“Bro, I know one thing, I’m born for this,” Rodrigues said. “Doesn’t matter you need to kill me. But if I’m alive with that, you’ll come with me. I’m a RoboCop,” Rodrigues said. “I felt the blood coming out and then my head said man, calm down, don’t rush. But I felt Chidi (Njokuani) is a warrior. I’m grateful to fight against the greatest guys in this cage. I want to say thank you Dana, thank you Mick!
“That’s what I said. I’m a guy that takes a challenge. I want to go against the best so I’m here. Let’s go I’m ready to go.”
Adesanya Wants To Rewrite History by Beating Pereira
‘Stylebender’ has proven to be a dominant champion who’s lapping past top-ranked contenders, beating some twice. He stands undefeated in the UFC at 185 pounds and will get the chance to avenge his two losses to ‘Poatan.’
“This is my chance to rewrite history if you will. It’s my biggest fight in the sense of the story. I don’t think it’s going to be like I’ve had hard fights and difficult fights. It is going to be a difficult fight but the story behind it and everything on the line, this is where I thrive.”
“It’s not personal in the sense like people want to make it in the sense that I let this go a long time ago,” he added. “Whenever you go through things like this, you can’t hold on to them. It’s useless if you hold onto it. You take the lessons and then use it to improve yourself and get to where I’m at now. So, I let this go a long time ago but the universe, the almighty has blessed me with this opportunity to rewrite history.
“I didn’t take it personally. You can never hold on to those things because if I do, it’s going to weigh on me. It’s going to be something I have to deal with going into this new fight. This ain’t kickboxing. I’m not the same fighter I was. I was young and let some things get to me but this is a whole new ball game, this is MMA.”