Israel Adesanya shocked middleweight rival Alex Pereira with a stunning knockout at UFC 287 by “playing possum”.
Adesanya, who had lost their previous three fights across kickboxing and MMA, seemed to be in serious trouble in the second round after a series of kicks to his lead leg by Pereira, and the Brazilian moved in for the kill.
Pereira began to unload on his seemingly suffering opponent as the New Zealander backed against the cage, and it appeared only a matter of time before he secured a fourth win in their long rivalry.
But after absorbing a flurry of punches and a knee to the head, from seemingly nowhere Adesanya responded with a vicious right hook which visibly stunned Pereira, and the rapt crowd in Miami’s Kaseya Center roared as the challenger followed it up with a two-punch combination which sent his opponent crashing to the canvas and a hammer fist to end the fight.
“I played possum,” Adesanya later explained, suggesting he lured his opponent into a false sense of security.
“I told you, the hunter is now the hunted. Beating me, he made me a better fighter, a better person. In this camp, I didn’t f*** around. That last hammer fist was from the gods.”
He added: “They say revenge is sweet and, if you know me, I’ve got a sweet tooth. This is f*****g sweet. I’m telling you, no matter what, Alex is a great champion. He lost the belt tonight, but he will always be a champion.
“Tonight is my night. It’s my story. History.”
Adesanya suffered a controversial points loss to Pereira in their first fight, a kickboxing match, and in the rematch the New Zealander was leading but was knocked out. In November, in their first MMA clash, again Adesanya was ahead but he was beaten in the final round.
Here, on his fourth attempt, he finally got his win over Pereira, and in stunning fashion.
In the co-main event, hometown fighter Jorge Masvidal lost against Gilbert Burns on points before announcing his retirement from MMA.
