Israel Adesanya Loses Middleweight Title Belt To Alex Pereira

 

Israel Adesanya is no longer the UFC middleweight title holder after losing in a knockout to Brailian opponent Alex Pereira at Madison Square in New York. 

Pereira, 35, did not seemed as he was going to cause any upset of Adesanya until the fifth round when his right hook landed well on Adesanya and went on to finished off the Nigerian in a stunning knockout late into the fifth round. 

"It was a very hard but just like Glover said, I was going through a fight every day at the gym," said Pereira. 

Adesanya was coasting well to defending the title for a record sixth time in a row before the tide turned. He had been able to hold off the Brazilian's aggression such that he could have beaten Pereira in the second round  but the buzzer went off just when Adesanya caught him with multiple hooks that almost floored him. 

Late into the fifth round, Pereira noticed his right hook had Adesanya dazed and while the Nigerian was trying to guide his face out of the situation Pereira capitalized on the situation and won the fight. 

That pair are long time rivals dating back to their days in kickboxing, and ahead of the fight, Pereira had promised he would beat Adesanya whom he had defeated twice before he joined UFC. Though Adasanya contested the referee's decision to call off the fight, in the end he left the venue in good spirit.