Adesanya calls Borrachinha a 'doped monkey' and promises to silence the Brazilian in a title fight

I. Adesanya at a UFC press conference. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube UFC

After Israel adesanya derrotou Yoel romero in its first defense of the middleweight belt (up to 83,9kg), in March this year, the UFC had no choice but to guarantee Paulo borrachinha as the next title challenger. After a frank confrontation against the Cuban, the Nigerian expects an interesting confrontation against the Minas Gerais native, who has been waiting for the confrontation for almost a year.

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“After the last fight, and having to deal with a statue, I want to get into the Octagon to have fun this time,” said the champion in an interview with 'MMA Fighting'.

Against an opponent with great knockout power and, like Israel, undefeated in his MMA career, the Nigerian sees the confrontation as a great opportunity to write his name as one of the biggest names of the current generation in the sport.

“The setting is perfect. That's why I love it. His appearance, that of a 'drugged monkey' with a villainous style as if he were an (Ivan) Drago (character from the 1985 film Rocky IV). The 'skinny' guy will arrive to run him over and, after he does, the scene that I'm going to promote in the post-fight, my God…", said Adesanya.

Israel also made a point of stating that the match against Paulo is not just a fight for the belt. Confessed enemies, the athletes made the confrontation something personal, which, over the months, has made it a spectacle that all sports fans want to watch.

“He will pay for everything he said leading up to this fight. He will listen after the confrontation. I assure you”, confirmed the Nigerian.

Although he has a lot of confidence in his talent, Adesanya recognizes that he won't be facing just any opponent when he faces Borrachinha. Therefore, the champion guarantees that he is preparing himself to be able to withstand the pressure that will be imposed by his rival throughout the confrontation.

“I'm looking forward to this test. He (Paulo) is perfect. He is orthodox. Currently, I'm getting used to fighting southpaws. So I'm looking forward to fighting a pure orthodox fighter who just does what I've seen a million times before.”

Although Israel and the Brazilian already have a verbal agreement to exchange forces, Ultimate has not yet signaled when the dispute could, in fact, take place. The idea is for the meeting to take place in 2020.