Israel Adesanya's belief in himself carried him to a dramatic knockout victory at UFC 287

As Israel Adesanya made the walk to the Octagon at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, on Saturday for his rematch with Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 287, he shook his head to the lyrics of a song called "Headstrong" by Trapt.

Adesanya seemed lost in his thoughts as he strode to the cage to meet his fate, listening to the words sung by Chris Taylor Brown.

Nearly every one of the 19,032 who filled the arena and collectively paid $11.9 million to watch was standing. Among those watching were former President Donald Trump, former boxing heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, a galaxy of NFL stars and celebrities from nearly every aspect of the entertainment industry.

They were there to watch, what, really? Pereira to knock Adesanya out a third time, as he had done twice in beating Adesanya in their previous three fights? That might have been the thought on everyone's mind, and it might have been why the tension in the arena was so thick.

That, though, wasn't what Adesanya was thinking.

"I was locked in, and I was coming for the kill," Adesanya said at the post-fight presser, sipping a Jack Daniels with Coca-Cola. "I'm hunting. I just wanted to show people the power of the human mind, the human spirit."

Pereira had scored a decision over Adesanya and then knocked him out in 2017 with a vicious left hook in a kickboxing match. Pereira transitioned to MMA after Adesanya won the UFC middleweight title. Last year, he earned a shot at Adesanya and, despite trailing on all cards after four rounds, he won the championship by knocking Adesanya out again.

Not long after that loss, Adesanya called UFC president Dana White and demanded another shot at Pereira. He didn't want an interim fight. He didn't want to wait a long time to heal. He wanted to get back in and do it again.

"That's one of the things I love about that guy," White said.

Adesanya knew he couldn't fight backing up and let Pereira, one of the biggest punchers in UFC history, steamroll him. He had to take the fight to Pereira and try to push him back. But Pereira expected it and he once again attacked Adesanya's legs with calf kicks.

That's the best way to limit an elite striker, by taking his legs away from him.

Pereira landed 26 kicks, five more than he had ever done previously, most of them hard and on target.

"I'll tell you, he's f***ing good with those legs kicks," Adesanya said. "I was like, 'Again?'"

Adesanya, though, has a unique ability to turn off his mind and keep the negative thoughts from creeping in and weighing him down. It might have been fatal had he started thinking negatively when a Pereira kick pushed him back against the cage.

One of the reasons Adesanya took the fight is because he believed he could win and was convinced he could block out the noise that hinders so many athletes in high-profile situations.

"I've always been like, if you get knocked down seven times, get back up eight," Adesanya said. "That's the human animal [to doubt oneself]. It normally happens. But I know myself. When you know yourself, no one else can tell you anything. I'm able to shut that out real quick. Most people can't do that. They let that negative self talk sit in there and weigh on them.

"I've done too much in my life to let that kind of thing weigh me down. Whenever that kind of thing, that dirty voice would creep in, I would tell it to shut the f*** up."

As he backed to the cage, seemingly hurt, the massive Pereira stormed in after him. This appeared for a moment like it would be a repeat of UFC 281's disastrous ending for Adesanya.

Pereira came in and threw a knee. But Adesanya said he was feigning being hurt. He took a step to his left and fired a right hand that landed on the button. He threw a left behind it that grazed Pereira and another right that put him on his back. Adesanya went to the ground and landed a vicious right from the top, before referee Dan Miragliotta stopped it.

In that moment, Adesanya proved the doubters, many of whom were his peers, wrong. He showed why he's one of the greatest fighters in UFC history.

And in that exchange, he proved that anything is possible if you believe.

The 1973 New York Mets made the World Series in a year in which they struggled by following the rally cry of relief pitcher Tug McGraw. McGraw would pound his thigh with his glove as he entered the game and repeat his mantra to himself: "You gotta believe."

On Saturday, Adesanya believed. He not only got the biggest win of his fighting career, but he also proved that talent will only take one so far.

Adesanya's long had the talent to go to the top. But it's that belief in self that affirmed on Saturday's he's one of the best to ever do it.