Israel Adesanya rewatched and broke down his knockout against Alex Pereira.
In the UFC 287 main event, Adesanya looked to avenge his three combat sports losses against Pereira by regaining the middleweight championship. In the second round, ‘Poatan’ started unloading a vicious combination against the cage when ‘The Last Stylebender’ landed a counter right, leading to a brutal knockout win.
During a video on his YouTube channel, Adesanya reacted to his highlight-reel knockout by saying:
“I baited him on this one. I said, ok, give it to him. I was like, ok, bait him, just set. Boom, I thought it was just one punch from heaven. Chopped him… He got so comfortable. I wanted him to feel comfortable like throw a reckless abandonment. I wanted him to get comfortable, so he thinks I’m a punching bag now. I’m not these other guys you fight with, bro.”
Before losing at UFC 287, Pereira was undefeated against Adesanya, winning two fights in kickboxing and one in the UFC. In November 2022, the middleweight rivals met in the Octagon, with ‘Poatan’ dethroning the City Kickboxing affiliate with a stunning fifth-round standing TKO. Five months later, ‘The Last Stylebender’ reclaimed the UFC middleweight championship.
Watch Israel Adesanya react to this UFC 287 performance below:
Israel Adesanya says he’s happy Dan Miragliotta allowed him to have his moment after knocking out Alex Pereira
After taking out Alex Pereira, Israel Adesanya celebrated the emotional moment by pretending to shoot his unconscious opponent with three arrows. Moments later, Adesanya pointed out Pereira’s son in the crowd and reenacted a teasing gesture that the kid did when ‘Poatan’ knocked out ‘The Last Stylebender’ in a 2017 kickboxing bout.
During the same YouTube video, Adesanya thanked referee Dan Miragliotta for allowing him to celebrate by saying:
“I’m glad it was Dan [Miragliotta]. He didn’t give me any rules. I just told him, look, if I put him on the ground and he’s flat out, let me have my moment. I said let me have my moment, I’m not gonna try to touch him, but let me have a moment, I’ve been waiting since 2017 for this, and he’s like ‘you got it bro.’ That’s all he said, he gave me that respect.”
Now that Adesanya has regained the UFC middleweight throne, the question is, what’s next? ‘The Last Stylebender’ believes the series against Pereira is over. He also suggested the Brazilian should move up to light heavyweight. If ‘Poatan’ does leave the division, the options for the next 185-pound title challenger are limited. Khamzat Chimaev would be the best option, with Dricus Du Plessis likely needing one more win.
Meanwhile, Robert Whittaker is ranked number two, but there isn’t much interest in a third fight against Adesanya, considering ‘The Last Stylebender’ already holds two wins over him. Only time will tell if Pereira gets the trilogy fight against the City Kickboxing affiliate or if another challenger gets an opportunity to become the 185-pound king.
ADESANYA GETS ONE BACK! HE KNOCKS PEREIRA OUT COLD! 😱 #UFC287 pic.twitter.com/P01reBg6je
— UFC (@ufc) April 9, 2023
