Former middleweight champ Israel Adesanya heads into what could be the most crucial fight of his combat career. In a fight that has the potential to define his future in MMA, the 33-year-old will square up against Alex Pereira in a bid to reclaim his title.

Adesanya, despite many believing him to be a better technical and well-rounded fighter than the Brazilian, still hasn’t managed to beat Pereira, despite having fought thrice. Losing twice in kickboxing, and once in the UFC, it appears that ‘Poatan’ has indeed served as the Kryptonite for Adesanya’s skills and fight IQ. Naturally, the former champ understands the importance of adapting to the Brazilian’s game plan, if he is to win the next bout. And in what looks like exactly that, the New Zealander’s recent training clip has got the fans talking. Interestingly, even welterweight Khamzat Chimaev joined in with the fans as he seemingly approved of Adesanya’s approach to the fight.

Khamzat Chimaev and fans back Israel Adesanya as the latter trains for UFC 287

In a clip shared by ESPN MMA on Instagram, fans got to see what went on during Adesanya’s fight camp for UFC 287. The former champ was seen having a wrestling session with his team which got fans talking about his game plan going into the fight.

Surprisingly along with the hordes of supporters and even haters that commented on the post, welterweight Khamzat Chimaev also reacted to the clip.

Showing his approval of Adesanya’s wrestling, he commented with thumbs-up emojis as a sign of his support.

Let’s take a look at a few of the comments that stood out.

“oh so you’re a wrestler now?”

“all of a sudden Izzy is a wrestler. Definitely gonna be the best fight out the 4”

Even famed wrestler Jordan Burroughs commented; asking the MMA fighter to train with him. “Izzy come see me, I’ll get you right!”

“This is Khamzat approved “

“Bro don’t even joke around on social media no more. He been locked in ever since”

“Can’t Fault a Man enough for trying Hard to become perfect in his Craft, even if you don’t like the Guy. Kudos to Him”

“Izzy can win the fight on the ground fs”

Clearly, the middleweight has fans rooting for him as he prepares for Pereira.

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira set for crucial rematch

The UFC 287 main event holds a lot of value, not just in terms of entertainment, but also for what narrative it sets for the division. A win here for Adesanya opens up the possibility of an epic trilogy with ‘Poatan’. While that may be interesting, many fans still expect Pereira to somehow get his hands raised yet again.

If that were to take place, rumors even suggest that the Brazilian could move up a division to challenge for the 205 lb title.

Read More: UFC 287: Fans React as Chuck Liddell Joins Alex Pereira Before Israel Adesanya Rematch

But whatever plays out, there’s no denying that the UFC 287 card will turn out to be one of the biggest and most entertaining ones of this year.

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