Israel Adesanya appeared in good spirits at his post-fight press conference following his knockout loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 281 last night.
The legendary middleweight champion had never lost at his preferred weight class of 185lb, and hadn't been stopped once in his career prior to facing Pereira. And despite dominating most of the contest, he was unable to banish the demons of their two kickboxing meetings as he was knocked out in the fifth round.
Pereira had previously stopped Adesanya in the ring during a rematch of their first bout, which the Brazilian won by way of a controversial decision. And lightning struck twice as he came from behind to land a phenomenal upset victory and get rid of his rival with a thundering late stoppage.
