“Adesanya began to play, grimace and gave Pereira the won fight” – Badaev

New Zealander Israel Adesanya gave the Brazilian Alex Pereira the won fight, says Aslanbek Badaev, Vice President of the ACA organization.

On Sunday, 35-year-old Pereira defeated 33-year-old Adesanya by TKO in the fifth round and won the UFC middleweight championship belt. At the same time, according to the results of four rounds, Adesanya won on the cards of the judges – 3: 1.

– We see that Pereira received a title shot in advance. He won only three victories in the UFC, and quite quickly he was brought to the belt. On the other hand, there was a background to the battle. He defeated Adesanya twice in kickboxing. Secondly, Israel had already cleaned up his division, beat someone like Whittaker and Vittori twice, beat Costa and Cannonir, so this fight was logical. It was obvious that Adesanya was uncomfortable. It is impossible to forget and hide that knockout and pretend that it did not happen. So it was understandable that he was nervous.

The fight itself showed that it is in MMA that Adesanya’s arsenal is higher. He is more experienced, has a lot more fights, including five rounds many times. He was ahead of his opponent in speed, was more flexible, his arsenal was wider, and his attacks were more diverse. He hit from a distance, surpassed in the clinch. The only thing that was on the side of Pereira was the power of the blow, but he lacked speed, especially after the fight.

All the more surprising is the denouement in the fifth round. For the fans, this is an incredible emotion, but we can say that Adesanya gave up the fight he won. He certainly took three of the four rounds, maybe with the exception of the second. Instead of running back and shooting back, he stagnated at the net, began to play and grimace. As a result, a heavy missed hook at the net, two uppercuts and another heavy hook. And the fight is over. Still, Pereira turned out to be kryptonite for Adesanya, because he beat him in both kickboxing and MMA. On the other hand, if Adesanya had not made a mistake and endured those couple of minutes, he would have won. His arsenal was larger, and in everything he outplayed his opponent.

Still, the mental component also plays a role. Starting to win, Israel wanted to show triumph over his opponent, and this had an effect. Unfortunately, Adesanya did not finish his work, lost his vigilance and concentration. Now he is losing a middleweight fight for the first time, he is knocked out for the first time in MMA, and even an immediate revenge will become three times more difficult for him,” Badaev told MMA.Metaratings.ru.

• “It was a lucky punch, Adesanya was winning.” MMA fighter Aleksakhin on Pereira’s victory
• “Adesanya is tired in the fight. Pereira moved it with its dimensions. Koreshkov – about the defeat of the Nigerian at UFC 281
• Adesanya won on the judges’ cards at the time of the stoppage of the fight with Pereira at UFC 281