Alex Pereira received quite a welcome back to his adopted home in Danbury, Conn. following a stunning fifth-round knockout over Israel Adesanya at UFC 281 to become middleweight champion.
The Brazilian striker was greeted by the masses as he returned to Teixeira MMA and Fitness, the gym run by his head coach and former UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira.
The riotous reception had Pereira smiling as Teixeira re-introduced him to the team except this time as the new middleweight champion with a UFC title on his shoulder.
In only his fourth fight in the UFC, Pereira shocked the world when he put together a nasty combination of punches midway through the final round that had Adesanya hurt multiple times.
As Pereira continued his attack, Adesanya offered little resistance as he just kept eating shots, which forced referee Marc Goddard to step in and stop the fight before further punishment was dished out.
Pereira celebrated the win, which was actually his third victory over Adesanya after they met twice previously in GLORY kickboxing with the Brazilian earning a decision victory in their first encounter and then scoring a vicious knockout in the rematch.
While he was down on the scorecards heading into the fifth round, Pereira still found a way to win and now he’ll get to enjoy the celebration as he becomes the 12th middleweight champion in UFC history and the third Brazilian to hold the title following Murilo Bustamante and Anderson Silva.
