Israel Adesanya stuns the world and regains UFC middleweight gold scoring an all-time great KO against fierce rival Alex Pereira at UFC 287.
Before the Fight
Alex Pereira
Coming into the bout off the back of his momentous title win over tonight’s opponent Israel Adesanya. Alex Pereira has taken the UFC by storm. Rising the ranks extremely quickly his overall MMA record only sits at 7-1. He’s been perfect through his last five with four wins inside the octagon.
In his last bout, he won the undisputed middleweight title defeating Adesanya via fifth-round knockout, shocking the MMA world.
Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya looks to reclaim the middleweight throne which he held for six fights defending it five times. His overall record sits and an impeccable 23-2, with his UFC record at an impressive 12-2.
In his last five he sits 3-2, which includes his title loss to Pereira and his unsuccessful challenge at light heavyweight where he lost a decision to Jan Błachowicz.
The Fight
Round 1
A low outside leg kick lands for Pereira. Israel lands a nice body kick in retaliation but both men are in the feeling-out process. A fast question mark kick grazes the face of the Brazilian. Adesanya lands a nice leg kick setting up strikes upstairs that partially hit the mark.
Alex is happy to kick low and wait for his openings. Israel has thrown several overhand right off the jab which have narrowly missed the head of Alex. The champ continues to chop the leg. The round ends with both men trading leg kicks.
Round 2
A hard kick to the leg goes to Izzy, which Alex responds to with a body kick and a huge flurry. In close Pereira lands heavy shots that Adesanya deals with. Israel responds and stops the forward motion of the champ.
As Israel starts to progress, a stiff jab from Alex sets him on the back foot. A massive roundhouse kick whizzes past the chin of Adesanya as he slips it. A left then right hook lands to the body of the challenger. Pereira remains on the front foot. A leg kick forces a reaction from Izzy.
Pereira uses this as an opportunity to step forward and look for the kill. Adesanya uses this momentum to dig deep and swing perfect shots towards the skull of Alex. He does just this and lands flush, a huge right-hand drops the guard of the champion, and the second right hand drops the body of Alex. Following Pereira to the mat he smashes multiple blows to end the bout. Wow.
Israel Adesanya defeats Alex Pereira via KO round 2, 4:21
Who does Israel Adesanya take on now, after regaining gold at UFC 287?
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
