Many questioned Israel Adesanya for coming back to fight Alex Pereira so quickly after Pereira had knocked him out on Nov. 12 in the main event of UFC 281 in New York.
Adesanya dismissed all the critics. He called for the rematch, he made the adjustments he needed after losing three consecutive fights to Pereira and, stunningly, he regained the middleweight title by knocking Pereira out in the second round in the main event of UFC 287 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
Pereira was chopping at Adesanya’s lead legs all night in an effort to slow the former champion down and be able to take advantage of his enormous punching power. He hit Adesanya with a kick late in the second and Adesanya backed up to the cage. Adesanya was fine, but Pereira suspected he was hurt. He came in with a knee that didn’t really connect. Adesanya countered him with a massive right hand that sent the big man stumbling back. Adesanya landed a left and then another hard right and Pereira was down.
Adesanya jumped on the prone Pereira and cracked him with a blazing right and it was all over at that point. Referee Dan Miragliotta jumped in to pull Adesanya off and stop it at 4:21. Adesanya then went into a lengthy celebration after he finally conquered his bitter rival, who won their first three meetings and knocked him out in the last two.
There were plenty who thought Adesanya should have taken more time, but he proved Saturday he knew what he’s doing. He also reminded those who may have forgotten why he’s one of the greatest fighters in the sport’s history.Adesanya with a motivational message after his KO victory at
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