Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is looking to get fans hyped up for his rematch with Alex Pereira using an iconic character from the Saw franchise.
UFC president Dana White announced on Friday that Pereira vs. Adesanya II was going to headline UFC 287, the upcoming pay-per-view event scheduled for April 8 at a to-be-announced location and venue.
With his rematch confirmed, Adesanya shared a promo that featured clips of Billy the Puppet, the sinister-looking, tricycle-riding, game-playing character used by John ‘Jigsaw’ Kramer (played by actor Tobin Bell) in the Saw movies to communicate with his ill-fated victims. Given his strength in communication, the ‘Last Stylebender’ used Billy the Puppet to send a warning to ‘Po Atan’ before they shared the Octagon again.
You can watch the promo below:
In this game, we don’t keep score…we settle them. #insertcointocontinue #UFC287 #wegoagain pic.twitter.com/eyDrE3gdht
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) January 28, 2023
“In this game, we don’t keep score…we settle them,” wrote Adesanya.
In his sixth defense at UFC 281 this past November, Adesanya was ahead on the judges’ scorecards against Pereira heading into the 5th round. That was until the Brazilian came forward and connected with a flurry of punches that saw referee Marc Goddard step in and stop the fight, ending Adesanya’s championship reign along with the bout.
Pereira holds three wins against Adesanya, who he also defeated in kickboxing at Glory of Heroes and Glory of Heroes 7, respectively. In 2023 he’ll attempt to go 4-0, but if this promo is any indication, Adesanya expects to get his revenge.
Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for more updates to UFC 287 as they become available in the coming months.
About the author: Kristen King is a writer for Bloody Elbow. She has covered combat sports since 2016. (full bio)
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