Adesanya promised to "knock out" Pereira at UFC 281 in New York
The New Zealander dreams of taking revenge on his longtime abuser.
On November 12, in the main event of UFC 281, middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will defend his title against Brazilian Alex Pereira.
The New Zealander is considered the favorite, although he is reminded of two unfortunate episodes in his life involving his current opponent.
Pereira beat Adesanya twice, once by knockout, back when both fighters competed in kickboxing.
But this time the champion intends to teach the "upstart" Pereira a lesson, promising to knock him out so that he will have to be carried out of the cage.
"I'm going to knock him out in the most brutal way possible. You could make a horror movie after the fight. I'm going to keep that theme and make a horror movie. I want to be the first person he sees when he wakes up... When he wakes up, he's going to look right at me and then at the ref. I'll be the first one he sees. That's how this fight will end, after which one of us will have the championship belt and the other a long recovery," said Adesanya.