After having more time to reflect, nothing has changed. Israel Adesanya stands by his initial assessment of his TKO loss to Alex Pereira this past Saturday at UFC 281.
Adesanya was stopped by rival Pereira in the main event to lose his middleweight title at Madison Square Garden in New York. Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC), who was up 39-37 on the judges’ scorecards entering the fifth round, lost his title after getting caught by Pereira (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) and taking additional punches, all while standing against the fence.
Adesanya stumbled to the canvas but got back to his feet as Pereira continued to pummel him. Adesanya wasn’t dropped a second time, but the damage taken was enough for referee Marc Goddard to intervene and stop the fight. Adesanya disagreed with the stoppage then, and two days later still stood by his initial assessment.
