MELBOURNE – UFC middleweight contender Israel Adesanya gives all props to Anderson Silva for shaping him as a fighter.

But when it comes to Silva’s strategy for unlocking his style, he scratches his head.

Silva (34-8 MMA, 17-4 UFC), 43, touted his work with Alex Pereira in preparation for his showdown with young upstart Adesanya (15-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) at UFC 234. But Adesanya indicated Silva has completely misjudged the value of a coach who owns a knockout win over him, as Pereira does in the GLORY kickboxing promotion.

“How in the (expletive) is Alex Pereira going to help him train for my style?” Adesanya said. “Because, OK, he knocked me out in the second fight. He beat me once before.

“But people forget, the second round, I had him on skates, but I didn’t stay true to my style. I listened to other people’s opinions that slowly slipped into me after the GLORY fight – (expletive) GLORY after the GLORY fight, by the way.”

In other words, Adesanya is back to the style that’s made him the hottest thing in the UFC’s middleweight division. And if Silva thinks Pereira has the special key, he’s in for a suprise when they meet Saturday at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.

UFC 234’s main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and UFC Fight Pass. Check out the above interview, and for more on UFC 234, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

For more from Adesanya, who is a 6-1 favorite over former longtime middleweight champ and pound-for-pound great Silva, check out the video above.

And for more on UFC 234, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.