In just his fourth fight in the UFC, Alex Pereira is the new middleweight champion after he vanquished longtime rival Israel Adesanya with a stunning fifth-round knockout.
#AndNew pic.twitter.com/LM2g2sQRfY
— danawhite (@danawhite) November 13, 2022
Just when it looked like Pereira was staring down a loss, he decided to leave everything in the cage and he came after Adesanya with everything left in his arsenal. A left hook staggered Adesanya and that spelled the beginning of the end as Pereira just unloaded a barrage of punches in succession.
He watched from afar. And when the time was right, he struck. 🏹
🏆🇧🇷 @AlexPereiraUFC inexplicably goes 3-0 against Adesanya to become #ANDNEW. #UFC281 pic.twitter.com/rbCYoqqMAU
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 13, 2022
The fight started off evenly with both fighters testing their reach and using leg kicks and feints. ‘The Last Stylebender,’ however, closed out the first round in style with a jab and a right hook that stunned the Brazilian, who was saved by the bell. The second round saw Alex Pereira making a comeback as the former two-division Glory Kickboxing champion began landing kicks and punches.
ALEX PEREIRA KNOCKS OUT ISRAEL ADESANYA! 😱
🇧🇷🏆 @AlexPereiraUFC HAS DONE IT AGAIN. UNBELIEVABLE. #UFC281 pic.twitter.com/N8H8eDUgF2
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 13, 2022
Adesanya fell to the ground for a moment but managed to stagger back to his feet only for Pereira to continue the assault until referee Marc Goddard saw enough to rescue “The Last Stylebender” before he took further damage. Pereira celebrated his victory with the fight ending at 2:01 in the fifth and final round in the UFC 281 main event.
ADESANYA DRAWS FIRST BLOOD!
🏆 @Stylebender sends Pereira back to his corner ROCKED! #UFC281 pic.twitter.com/rkDgwkWYqZ
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 13, 2022
“I feel so blessed,” Pereira said about his victory. “I worked so hard for this. Sorry to everybody that I had to post some stuff, I had to do a little bit of trash talk this time. But I had to get in his head to get this fight.”
In just his EIGHTH ever MMA fight, Alex Pereira has TAKEN the middleweight crown!
The 🇧🇷🏆 @AlexPereiraUFC nightmare continues for Israel Adesanya. #UFC281 pic.twitter.com/zzEgKnSOXf
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 13, 2022
It was truly a battle of elite strikers with Adesanya and Pereira both displaying high-level technique throughout the fight. The first big shot of the night actually came from a well-timed right hand from Adesanya that caught Pereira off guard.
