Reigning UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, understands why the promotion pushed Alex Pereira into a title shot so fast.
Adesanya spoke with reporters at the media day for this Saturday night's UFC 281 pay-per-view event in New York City ahead of his title defense against Pereira and explained why he's happy to face a fresh challenge inside of the Octagon, but also believes the UFC gave his rival the right fights to get to this position in a swift fashion.
“I was making things look too easy,” Adesanya said (h/t MMA Fighting). “Even I was getting bored with it, having to lap the division again. For me, I set the way. I lay the table out. The UFC know what they’re doing. They brought him up right. They gave him the right fights. I don’t think he fought a wrestler. He beat one top-five guy. I fought a top 10 guy in my f****** third fight in the UFC and I’ve just headlined since and stole the show. So my run is different. I appreciate my run because of the way I did it. Let him enjoy his time right now. Let him enjoy his 15 minutes.”
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