By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Israel Adesanya exacted his revenge on MMA nemesis Alex Pereira and ended the championship bout rematch in style after pulling off a second-round knockout to regain his UFC middleweight belt last April 9, 2023.
“Focus”.
That was the only word Adesanya said after his coaches reminded him of the game plan at the end of the first round.
Out to prove his doubters wrong and regain the respect of the thousands of UFC fans, Adesanya proved that “focus” is all he needed to take out Pereira who last knocked him out during their first fight.
It was a highly-technical kickboxing fight in the first five minutes as both fighters measured each other up by using crisp leg kicks to control the pace inside the octagon.
As Pereira decided to target Adesanya’s calves, the pride of New Zealand opted to target his rival’s body and mixed his offense up with a couple of jabs and leg kicks.
A little exchange then happened in the second-minute mark when Pereira hit Adesanya with a huge right hook but both fighters regrouped and backpedaled to avoid further damage.
In the last 15 seconds of the fight, Adesanya checked Pereira with two crisp leg kicks followed by a soft left jab to end the first round with more significant strikes.
All hell then broke loose in the second round when both fighters decided to engage more with Pereira getting the better of Adesanya in the first.
Vocal to his team about the first five minutes, Pereira said sorry when Adesanya hit him with four clean right hooks in the first round and promised to make it up which he did after going in as the aggressor.
His constant pressure and huge size then allowed him to cover more space and neutralize Adesanya’s desired distance in throwing that signature body kick.
Pereira then looked to dominate the round after successfully bullying Adesanya with his calf kicks. During the last two minutes of the round, the former champion appeared to slow down and feel the damage in his legs, the reason why the Brazilian kept on coming in, stalking him with his kicks.
However, it was all part of the plan.
As Adesanya saw Pereira gaining confidence, he wisely lured him to fight inside after he covered his face with both guards while staying in the corner of the cage.
The overconfident Pereira then rushed to Adesanya and pummeled him with three huge punches and one knee to the face but the “Last StyleBender” saw an opening for a vicious right hook counter that sent the Brazilian down to the canvass.
After Pereira went down, Adesanya then quickly stomped over him and connected one huge hammer fist that was enough to put him back as the UFC’s middleweight king.
During the post-fight interview, Adesanya said luring Pereira to go after him was his strategy: “I played possum for a little bit. Look at him. Look at him. Oh look at him.,” said Adesanya.
“They say revenge is sweet and if you know me, I’ve got a sweet tooth, I’m telling you, no matter what, Alex is a great champion. He lost the belt tonight but he will always be the champion,” added Adesanya.
