5 months ago he almost had him, but was defeated in a spectacular 5th round TKO at UFC 281. This weekend, Adesanya looks to wipe the zero from his 0-3 record against Alex Pereira.
Tomorrow the UFC returns to Miami for the first time in almost 20 years. It’s gonna be a fiery rematch between one of MMA’s greatest athletes and his rival.
Adesanya wore a dog collar for the journo’s at yesterday’s press conference. He stated it was symbolic of being “unleashed” for the main event on the UFC 287 card. We love to see it!
This time around we’re even more invested in Adesanya coming out on top. On the sidelines in that same press conference, was TFC’s very own local Logan boy – Ben Johnston.
Ben had the privilege of joining the City Kickboxing camp to help prepare Adesanya, he talks more about it here .
Despite being a relative newcomer to MMA with just 2 matches under his belt, Ben Johnston is a combat sports veteran.
The former WBC Muay Thai World Champion has a history in NZ with one of the most epic King of The Ring fights against T.Y Williams.
However, it’s not this history that made him an obvious choice to join Adesanya’s Auckland based camp. It’s his dedication to the sport.
Ben is one of the directors and head coach of Queensland’s largest combat sports gym. TFC (The Fight Centre) in Logan City, south of Brisbane. This is where Benny spends almost everyday training, with his own small but growing stable of up and coming fighters.
Leaving them to join the fight camp in Auckland was a big sacrifice, he says, but one that proved to be worth it with some of the TFC fight team joining him a week before flying out to Miami. The team got a taste of what it takes to be first class in the fight game.
Benny’s fighters returned to Logan refreshed and fired up, back on the mats training TFC’s large membership base on the same day they landed.
It’s been a rough camp for Ben, after perforating his ear drum sparring Adesanya on the first week he arrived. Regardless, in typical Logan fashion this didn’t stop him from pushing the limits for the duration of the camp.
TFC will welcome Ben back to the gym this month on the 17th. The whole team will be behind Adesanya as he faces off for the 4th time against Alex Pereira on the UFC card tomorrow.
The UFC 287 Card Tomorrow kicks off with early prelims at 8am Australian Eastern Standard Time, with a main card start time of 12pm. The Co-main event is the Welterweight divisions Gilbert Burns v George Masvidal, before the Pereira v Adesanya Middleweight main event.
To learn more with TFC’s Ben Johnston check out this link here.
