Israel Adesanya won back his middleweight title in spectacular fashion and got his first win over Alex Pereira at UFC 287.
‘The Last Stylebender’ endured a tough first round as he ate several calf kicks but they didn’t matter as he closed the show with powerful strikes in round two.
Pereira got caught with a massive overhand as he pushed his long-time rival against the fence. Adesanya followed it up with another big strike that knocked the Brazillian out cold in Miami.
The Nigerian-born New Zealander landed a follow-up ground strike before referee Dan Mirgliotta intervened and he officially became a two-time UFC champion.
Adesanya entered UFC 287 with his back against the wall after suffering three defeats in his first three meetings with Pereira.
Just last year, he was knocked out in round five of a fight he was winning at UFC 281, which was the middleweight duos first meeting in MMA.
Before that, Pereira ended Adesanya’s 12-fight kickboxing win streak with a controversial unanimous decision victory that led to a rematch.
A year later, Pereira left no doubt when he landed a lead left hook to put Adesnaya out cold on the canvas and he later required oxygen as he struggled to instantly regain consciousness.
