Israel Adesanya defeated Alex Pereira at UFC 287
Israel Adesanya (24-2) defeated Alex Pereira (7-2) to regain his UFC Middleweight Title at UFC 287 in Miami.
Pereira picked up exactly where he left off in their last fight with a series of outside leg kicks to open the fight. Adesanya looked for opportunities as the champion circled around him, switching planes with leg kicks and head combos of his own.
Adesanya was more aggressive to open the second lap but it was Pereira who closed the gap and started to control the exchanges. Adesanya found his footing, walked away from the cage and went over the champion with his own handful of punches. Pereira was calm as Adesanya started pouring it up, staying in his pocket and waiting for opportunities to hit. He continued to slash away with leg kicks no matter what stance the challenger was in.
Late in the round, Pereira injured his opponent with a big leg kick, but Adesanya knocked out the champion with two back-to-back big overhand right kicks and finished him off with a hammerfist for safety. And in classic Stylebender fashion, Adesanya celebrated victory in style.
The only other loss Adesanya suffered in his UFC career came when he moved up to light heavyweight to fight Jan Błachowicz. Adesanya came into play 3-0 against Pereira on Saturday night, two of them during his kickboxing days and the last most recently in November when he handed the middleweight crown to Pereira.
