The main event of UFC 281 between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira promised mixed martial arts fans a spectacular battle, given the history of their confrontation, which stretches back to the days when both fighters competed in kickboxing.

For the third fight, the Brazilian did not come up with anything new, but again repeated in detail the meeting five years ago. Israel, apparently, did not learn the right lessons from the previous hard defeat.

An uncomfortable opponent

Nigerian mixed martial artist Israel Adesanya, who held the middleweight title before UFC 281, boasted an abundance of different victories in his rich career in MMA, but he had only one defeat: from Jan Vlahovic and in an unusual weight category for himself. Among the middleweights, the Nigerian dominated, defending the belt five times in a row.

But for the sixth defense, the UFC management picked up a very uncomfortable opponent for Adesanya, whom he met twice when he played in the kickboxing ring. Brazilian fighter Alex “Stone Hands” Pereira had only seven fights in mixed martial arts before the fight with Israel. But due to bright victories over strong opponents, he quickly climbed into the middleweight elite and deserved a championship fight.

Adesanya certainly does not mind forgetting the history of the face-to-face confrontation between these fighters in kickboxing. Alex twice managed to leave the Nigerian without victories. If in the first fight the Brazilian won only on points, then in the second he sent the opponent into a deep knockout. Fatal for Izzy was a left-handed blow to the jaw missed in the third round.

At the same time, Adesanya had every chance of winning. In the previous segment of their second fight, the Nigerian lacked just a little to defeat his opponent ahead of schedule. The Brazilian, barely on his feet, was saved only by a gong.

Photo: © Jeff Bottari / Contributor / UFC / Gettyimages.com

“I was destined to be a champion”

The third confrontation between these fighters, already according to the rules of mixed martial arts, was again better started by the Nigerian athlete. After the siren, Alex tried to land a jumping kick with his straight leg, but Izzy managed to dodge it. After that, the fighters acted carefully, groping for a comfortable distance and exchanging mostly kicks. But in the end, Adesanya convinced the judges to give him dozens, powerfully hitting the Brazilian in the head.

In the second round, Pereira seized the initiative. All three referees favored Alex. The Brazilian showed the power of his “stone” left hand, which several times flew well into Adesanya’s head. Plus, at the end of the segment, Pereira had a successful takedown.

In the third round, the advantage passed to the Nigerian fighter. In the middle of the five-minute period, he took the opponent’s back, after which he began to methodically deliver blows to the head. The superiority of Izzy in this episode, which lasted three minutes, was not in doubt. Remained behind Adesanya and the fourth segment. This time he dominated the standing position.

Before the victory, Israel only had to lead the fifth round to the end. But it was in it, when almost everything was lost for Pereira, the Brazilian literally gnawed out the victory. In the middle of the segment, Alex squeezed the opponent near the net and began to punch powerfully. Fatal for Izzy again was a left blow to the jaw, after which the Nigerian frankly swam. Seeing this, the Brazilian fighter rushed to finish off his opponent. The fight had to be stopped by the referee.

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– I’m very happy! I was destined to be a champion. I worked hard and gave my all in training to make it happen. I’m sorry that there was trash talk on my part, but I had to get into this guy’s head to get this fight, ”Pereira said after handing him the championship belt.

Alex had not yet had time to enjoy the victory, as he received a new challenge. With the newly-made middleweight champion, Khamzat Chimaev expressed a desire to fight. It is not known whether Pereira will accept this challenge, but all roads are now open before him.