As an archer, Israel Adesanya fired his arrow and finished off Alex Pereira. So, the Nigerian wanted to celebrate his victory in the UFC 287 All-Star Game. He couldn’t have chosen a better ending for this fight. Everything was as it is. It’s amazing, amazing. Izzy regained the UFC middleweight title in the second round and had one of the most impressive fights of the year.
image source: UFC
“I don’t even know what I hit him with,” Adesanya quipped after the fight. The right hand, possessing the “power of the gods”, brought long-awaited redemption to the African. They fought three times, and in the last two the Brazilian knocked out (the first won on points). For Izzy, it was all or nothing.
From the start, Alex Pereira surprised by missing the first round. It wasn’t easy, but Adesanya won. The African tried harder. Pereira focused on kicks to knock down the opponent, and with his fists he was more accurate than the challenger. The second round started at a different pace. The middleweight champion came out brave and it was a very dangerous crossover. He’s a lot bigger and every hand feels like a knockout. Adesanya managed to endure it.
He was going to stop Alex, and such an action could change everything. The footwork worked for the Brazilian. The Nigerian twitched on one leg and backed up towards the cage. He winced and took a flurry of blows. Pereira knew that if he reached out he could knock him out, but a straight right hand left him practically knocked out. Two more strikes from the Nigerian ended up bringing down the champion and changing history. Finally, Adesanya was able to break out of the vicious cycle of Pereira’s defeats.
“Thank you Alex for beating me. Now you made me a better fighter,” Adesanya said at the end. The 33-year-old Nigerian is one of those fighters who are the best at selling fights. All week he has appeared in the same collar as the film’s main character, Danny Dog.
image source: UFC
He wanted to be a “predatory dog”, and with his ending, his act made sense.
“I hope each of you can experience this level of happiness at least once in your life,” Adesanya said.
Adesanya first faced Pereira in a kickboxing ring in 2016 and lost in a controversial unanimous decision. They then met a year later, with Pereira knocking out Adesanya in the third and final round. They met under MMA rules at UFC 281 last November in New York, where Adesanya was again in charge for most of the fight before suffering a brutal fifth-round knockout and losing his belt as a result. .
In the main event of Saturday night’s UFC 287 card in Miami, Florida, Adesanya, after defeating the towering Brazilian with a stunning second-round combo, finally breaks the curse of Alex Pereira and returns to the top of the the UFC.
