November 13, (THEWILL) – Alex Pereira defeated Israel Adesanya with a fifth-round TKO to win the middleweight title on Saturday, at UFC 281 in New York City.
With the victory, Pereira, who has two kickboxing victories over Adesanya, increased his MMA record to 7-1. The challenger needed a finish going into the fifth round because he was probably trailing Izzy three rounds to one on the judges’ scorecards.
He shocked the champion with a left hook, then delivered a flurry of forceful blows to get exactly that.
At 2:01 into the final round, referee Marc Goddard intervened to call a halt to the fight after observing Adesanya stumbling after several blows had hit.
Adesanya, who has held the title for the category since 2019 finally lost the middleweight crown, his first loss in four bouts but the first with his title on the line.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
