Israel Adesanya regained his UFC middleweight title with a brutal knockout of Alex Pereira in the second round of their bout at UFC 287 earlier this month.
Per his YouTube channel on Wednesday, Adesanya said he sustained a Grade 1 MCL tear the week prior to the bout in Miami. Adesanya contends that his leg buckled awkwardly under the weight of a training partner while being on the receiving end of a takedown.
Adesanya (24-2) said he wasn’t interested in pulling out of the fight versus Pereira. In fact, “The Last Stylebender” compared the injury to a different one he sustained previously.
“I’ve been here before,” Adesanya said. “My UFC debut, three weeks out, I did my right ankle. I remember the next day, calling (a physiotherapist) and being like, ‘Yo, I need to see you tomorrow ASAP.’ … He had to reinjure it or cause pain to it. I remember biting on a towel and sitting there in pain, screaming as he’s (expletive) massaging my hurt ankle where it’s not supposed to be massaged.”
Adesanya, 33, is expected to face the winner of the bout pitting South African middleweight Dricus Du Plessis and former champion Robert Whittaker. That bout will take place at UFC 290 in July.
–Field Level Media
