Israel Adesanya says his middleweight title defence against Alex Pereira on Saturday is “going to be a horror movie.”
“I just want to make it a horror movie,” Adesanya said on The MMA Hour this past Monday. “That’s how I feel. I’ve decided this is going to be a horror movie. This is going to be bloody. This is going to be one where it’s, like, it won’t last as long as me and Kelvin [Gastelum], but it’s going to get like that. It’s going to be like, who can swim? Who can swim the longest? Who’s going to drown?
“That’s what I see is going to happen. It’s going to happen. I want to make it a horror movie because it’s been a horror movie in the gym.”
At media day on Wednesday, Adesanya was asked what horror movie specifically he seeks to recreate and he mentioned the critically acclaimed 2018 hit A Quiet Place, a film that features a world overrun by blind monsters that attack with savage precision upon hearing the slightest whisper.
Adesanya would likely appreciate the same kind of acclaim, given the heat he took for an uneventful—but dominant—win over Jared Cannonier in his previous title defense.
“I don’t really need to say anything,” Adesanya said. “The fight’s sold. I don’t need to try and get under his skin. For what? Certain people, like when I fought [Derek] Brunson, that was easy because I knew how to poke the bear in that one. [Pereira] doesn’t even speak English, I don’t need to say anything to him.
“It would be foolish of me to try and intimidate him, that’s the wrong tactics. You have to change your tactics according to the situation. All I’m doing right now is just staying patient and doing my work.”
