Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) was stopped by Pereira (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in the main event of UFC 281 on Saturday at 2:01 of Round 5. It happened at Madison Square Garden.
Pereira had two kickboxing victories over Adesanya, one of which was a contentious knockout. He added an MMA victory to their head-to-head matchup at UFC 281 with a standing, come-from-behind TKO.
The two distinctive and memorable walkouts at the conclusion of previous fights’ highlights have elevated the major fight’s sense of natural competition.
To the tune of an old song from the indigenous people, Pereira went first and approached the cage. Green light from Brazil illuminated Madison Square Garden. Adesanya’s time then came. The SAW movies’ “Jigsaw” made an appearance on screen, but there was no “Undertaker” or samurai garb.
Adesanya landed two punches that left Pereira hurt on his feet in the closing moments of a contested Round 1. Pereira recovered, though, and applied constant pressure to Adesanya throughout Round 2. To the audible surprise of the fans, Pereira scored a late takedown on Adesanya.
As the battle unexpectedly turned to a grappling match in Round 3, the tides turned back in favor of Adesanya. He continued to gain ground in Round 4 as he dismantled the approaching Pereira.
But in Round 5, things began to change as Pereira entered the ring with a genuine feeling of urgency. Pereira increased the stakes, perhaps realizing he was probably losing three rounds to one. Adesanya was pushed off balance by a checked leg kick. Adesanya got back up and regained himself. A short while later, the bombardment resumed. Adesanya was hit repeatedly by hard punches from Pereira.
Adesanya attempted to bob and weave his way out of danger while leaning up against the cage, but referee Marc Goddard had enough. As Adesanya dove and ducked, he stopped the battle. Adesanya first protested but didn’t voice any more grievances either during or after the formal ruling.
With the victory, Pereira takes the title in just his ninth MMA match as a professional. Pereira has been credited with Adesanya’s prior victories ever since entering MMA. Pereira has passed every test put in front of him since 2015, despite some critics pointing out his brief run to the title in the UFC and in MMA in general.
Andreas Michailidis, Bruno Silva, and Sean Strickland had all been defeated by Pereira prior to UFC 281. Six straight victories are ended by the loss.
Adesanya suffers his first defeat at the middleweight division with the loss. It’s the fifth time he’s successfully defended his crown.
