Israel Adesanya admitted that he injured his leg from Alex Pereira’s kick when he lost by TKO in a duel UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden, New York, Sunday (11/13) afternoon WIB.
Adesanya lost in the fifth round by TKO to Pereira and lost the UFC middleweight world title. Even though the New Zealand boxer was ahead by four rounds.
Quoted by Bloody Elbow, Adesanya admitted that he couldn’t perform optimally in round five because his leg was sore. Pereira managed to injure the accursed Nigerian boxer with a kick in the calf.
“My leg. My leg hurts. He took a kick in the calf and it hurt a lot. It hit my peroneal nerve, that’s why my footwork is impaired. He deserves credit for taking that kick in the calf, because it cost me, ”said Adesanya.
“I’m fine. It’s just my leg. My leg is weak and it’s really annoying. But again, kudos to him for doing it. I did the same for him. His leg hurt, but he hurt me more bad. It’s hard to attack me with the fight, because my feet already hurt,” said Adesanya.
Adesanya for the third time lost to Pereira. The previous two matches took place in the kickboxing event as Pereira won on points and knocked out Adesanya.
Adesanya reckons Pereira’s TKO loss at UFC 281 is exactly the same as the last time he lost at the kickboxing event. At that time Adesanya was leading on points, but then Pereira won by knockout.
“It’s crazy, just like last time. Same story. His stamina is amazing, he was able to recover very quickly. Even in the fifth round I knew he was going to come back strong,” Adesanya said.
“This is like our last fight. He had another great story, but it’s not over yet. There is still a war between us,” continued Adesanya, who called for a rematch against Pereira.
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