On Saturday night, Israel Adesanya knocked out Alex Pereira and won the middleweight championship at UFC 287. The victory was sweet revenge for Adesanya, as the fighter had lost three straight fights vs. Pereira across two different combat sports.
After Pereira’s second kickboxing win over Adesanya in 2017, his son celebrated by mocking a knockout in the ring next to Adesanya after the match. Well, Adesanya did not forget that.
After his win on Saturday, Adesanya made a sleeping gesture at Pereira’s kid, to make sure he knew that he knocked his dad out.
Izzy telling Alex Pereira's son his dad went to sleep IS INSANE 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/XlQfjfd7DA
— nick (@kra) April 9, 2023
“I’m petty bro, I remember the first time he knocked me out in Brazil his son came into the ring and started to get next to me,” Adesanya said. “I looked for his kid and I pointed at him and I saw him.”
Adesanya improved to 24-2 in UFC fights, and not only did he finally defeat Pereira, he did so after losing to Pereira in his last fight in November. This is very clearly a fight that he will not forget.