Georges St-Pierre advises Israel Adesanya to focus on the objective rather than letting emotions get the best of him in his upcoming rematch against Alex Pereira at UFC 287.
Georges St-Pierre believes Israel Adesanya should concentrate on himself this weekend. On Saturday, Adesanya will attempt to reclaim the middleweight title when he faces Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 287. As it stands, he has a record of 0-3 against Pereira, having lost two bouts in kickboxing and getting stopped by Adesanya in the fifth round of UFC 281 this past year.
With such a lopsided record, tensions between the headliners are understandably high. At the pre-fight press conference, Adesanya donned a dog collar, stating “I’m a dog, and I’m about to be unleashed” before engaging in an intense faceoff with Pereira. However, St-Pierre cautions Adesanya against getting carried away by his emotions. “I think one of the biggest mistakes when someone fights another person is trying to use his anger, his emotion — that might be a mistake,” St-Pierre said at the UFC Middleweight Legends Q&A when asked what advice he would give to Adesanya. “I think it’s important to focus on the objective, not the subjective. It’s very important.”
St-Pierre continued, “The difference is, if you focus on the objective, only on the things you can control, not the things that you don’t have control over — for example, am I going to lose or win? You don’t control that. What people are going to think about me? You don’t control that. What my opponent is doing? You don’t control that. Just focus on the things that you can control, and by doing so, he knows the things he needs to do to get the job done. Focus on that, and clear your mind of all the BS around it. Just focus on what you need to do, and just by doing this, you slip the odds in your favor.” Despite his previous three defeats, the odds remain slightly in Adesanya’s favor, with DraftKings currently listing “The Last Stylebender” as a -140 betting favorite to finally defeat Pereira.
UFC 287 will take place on Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami.