{"id":5505,"date":"2025-03-10T16:27:12","date_gmt":"2025-03-10T15:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/?p=5505"},"modified":"2025-03-11T13:34:23","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T12:34:23","slug":"israel-adesanya-sparks-controversy-why-does-he-believe-alex-pereira-deserved-the-win-over-ankalaev","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/israel-adesanya-sparks-controversy-why-does-he-believe-alex-pereira-deserved-the-win-over-ankalaev\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Israel Adesanya Sparks Controversy: Why Does He Believe Alex Pereira Deserved the Win Over Ankalaev?&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"251\" data-end=\"576\">UFC 313 witnessed an intense battle between former champion Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev, ending in a unanimous decision win for the latter. However, the result did not go unchallenged, especially after Israel Adesanya\u2019s reaction, as he openly expressed his surprise at what he considered a &#8220;wrong call&#8221; by the judges.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"578\" data-end=\"680\">But did Pereira truly deserve the victory? Or is Adesanya viewing the fight through a personal lens?<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"682\" data-end=\"725\"><strong data-start=\"686\" data-end=\"723\">Adesanya Defends His Former Rival<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"727\" data-end=\"950\">Despite the long-standing rivalry between Adesanya and Pereira\u2014marked by multiple losses for the Nigerian star\u2014Adesanya fully supported the Brazilian fighter, stating on his YouTube channel that the decision was &#8220;unfair.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 696px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('video');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-5505-1\" width=\"696\" height=\"378\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/X2Twitter.com_jeW4Rf3zMO3t7Jrx_482p.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/X2Twitter.com_jeW4Rf3zMO3t7Jrx_482p.mp4\">https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/X2Twitter.com_jeW4Rf3zMO3t7Jrx_482p.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"952\" data-end=\"1164\">Adesanya said:<br data-start=\"966\" data-end=\"969\" \/><em data-start=\"969\" data-end=\"1162\">&#8220;I scored the fight for Pereira. He managed to withstand Ankalaev\u2019s takedown attempts and landed clean strikes. That second round alone should have been enough to turn the tide in his favor.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  id=\"_ytid_64119\"  width=\"696\" height=\"391\"  data-origwidth=\"696\" data-origheight=\"391\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4SvS74wUj88?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=0&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1166\" data-end=\"1237\">But are these arguments strong enough to dispute the judges&#8217; verdict?<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1239\" data-end=\"1277\"><strong data-start=\"1243\" data-end=\"1275\">Did the Judges Get It Wrong?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1279\" data-end=\"1528\">Many fans believe the fight was close, but they argue that Ankalaev\u2019s dominant wrestling played a key role in swaying the judges. Adesanya, however, insists that Pereira\u2019s knockdown in Round 2 should have carried more weight in the final decision.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1530\" data-end=\"1681\"><em data-start=\"1530\" data-end=\"1679\">&#8220;I need to watch the fight again, but I believe the second round should have been decisive. Pereira managed to drop him, and that\u2019s no small feat.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1683\" data-end=\"1718\"><strong data-start=\"1687\" data-end=\"1716\">A Rematch on the Horizon?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1720\" data-end=\"2063\">With controversy surrounding the outcome, the most logical scenario appears to be a rematch between Pereira and Ankalaev. Both fighters have already expressed their willingness for an immediate rematch, with Pereira believing he deserves another shot at the title after his impressive victories over top-ranked opponents in less than a year.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2065\" data-end=\"2310\">Adesanya, who understands Pereira\u2019s impact on UFC\u2019s popularity, believes the organization won\u2019t hesitate to schedule a second fight:<br data-start=\"2197\" data-end=\"2200\" \/><em data-start=\"2200\" data-end=\"2308\">&#8220;It was a competitive fight, but a rematch will bring definitive closure. I\u2019m sure UFC will book it soon!&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2312\" data-end=\"2370\"><strong data-start=\"2316\" data-end=\"2368\">Conclusion: Does Pereira Deserve Another Chance?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2372\" data-end=\"2604\">The key question remains: Will Pereira be granted a rematch, or will Ankalaev move forward to defend his title against a new challenger? And to what extent will Adesanya\u2019s remarks fuel this ongoing debate within the MMA community?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2372\" data-end=\"2604\">What do you think? Was Pereira robbed by the judges, or was Ankalaev the rightful winner?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UFC 313 witnessed an intense battle between former champion Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev, ending in a unanimous decision win for the latter. However, the result did not go unchallenged, especially after Israel Adesanya\u2019s reaction, as he openly expressed his surprise at what he considered a &#8220;wrong call&#8221; by the judges. But did Pereira truly [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,86,21,91,1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5505","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"category-mma-video","9":"category-ufc-news","10":"category-ufc","11":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5505"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5505"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5510,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5505\/revisions\/5510"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}