A new king comes to the UFC middleweight. Alex Pereira surprised by taking the belt belonging to Israel Adesanya, with a resounding victory at UFC 281.
Pereira looked heroic against Adesanya at UFC 281. That duel was to be Pereira’s first chance to fight for the championship belt.
Adesanya, who has middle class champion status, appears to be eliminated. Pereira beat him by TKO, after his flurry of punches forced the referee to stop the duel in the fifth round.
For Pereira, this is his first UFC championship belt. He won it, having only fought four times in the UFC since he signed a pro contract in 2021.
Pereira, who is often referred to as Poatan, admits he had a good corner team in his win. One of them, the Brazilian fighter, praised Glover Teixeira.
“I knew it was going to be a very tough fight. I was trying to keep up the pace, but going into the final round, my corner and Glover kept me on my toes. I looked at him and said, ‘Should I knock him out?’ And Glover said, “You have to drop it.” And then I said, “Okay, let’s do it,” Alex Pereira said.
Pereira’s victory was beyond all expectations. Previously, Adesanya was favorite to win due to his flashier dueling record.
Prior to the fight, Adesanya had a record of 23 wins and one loss. The Last Stylebender has also defended his championship belt five times, since reclaiming it in 2019.
Several fighters who watched the duel on the edge of the octagon at UFC 281 were also shocked to see Adesanya go down and Pereira win the championship belt. Pereira’s status as the new king of the middle class shocked the world.
Dana White, president of UFC, has not ruled out the possibility of organizing a rematch between Pereira and Adesanya. Competition in the UFC middle class will still be hot.
UFC 281 results
Middleweight: Alex Pereira defeats Israel Adesanya (TKO in the fifth round)
Girls Straw Class: Zhang Weili beats Carla Ezparza (Submission)
Lightweight: Dustin Poirier beats Michael Chandler (Submission)
Bantamweight: Chris Guttierez beats Frankie Edgar (KO)
Lightweight: Dan Hooker beats Claudio Pueller (TKO in the second round)
(then/then)
