November 12, (THEWILL) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship crowned a new light heavyweight champion early on Sunday, as Alex Pereira defeated Jiří Procházka via TKO at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden.
In just his fourth UFC fight, Pereira claimed the 205-pound belt with a dominant performance. The Brazilian hurt Procházka with right and left hooks in the second round, knocking the defending champion down and forcing the referee to stop the fight after some quick ground strikes.
With the victory, Pereira became the first fighter in UFC history to win titles at both light heavyweight and middleweight. He had previously held the middleweight belt.
The light heavyweight title was vacant entering UFC 295 after former champion Jamahal Hill was forced to relinquish it due to injury. Pereira will now look to defend his new belt against a stacked division of contenders. He called out Israel Adesanya after his victory.
In the co-main event, England’s Tom Aspinall captured the interim heavyweight title with a first-round TKO of Sergei Pavlovich. Aspinall could potentially face heavyweight champ Jon Jones next if Jones recovers from a torn pectoral muscle in time.
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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.
