Brazilian Alexsandro Pereira defeated Nigerian-New Zealander Israel Mobolaji Adesanya in an Ultimate Fighting Champions (UFC) 281 fight for the Middleweight title in the early hours of Sunday, November 13, 2022.
Adesanya entered the match seeking revenge after losing two fights to Pereira in kickboxing in 2016 and 2017.
The 33-year-old Adesanya began the fight cautiously as he does. However, toward the end of the first round was able to get Pereira to respect his striking power.
Adesanya won the first round after landing heavy punches on Pereira’s face.
Pereira was more composed in the second round, dominated Adesanya, and landed the takedown to level the judges’ scorecard.
Pereira cramped Adesanya and continuously pounded him with left hooks and punches from his right hand to knock out Adesanya and become the new UFC Middleweight Champion.
