Israel Adesanya reclaimed his middleweight title by brutally knocking out Alex Pereira in their UFC 287 rematch.
Adesanya was looking to get a win against Pereira after losing his UFC middleweight title to the Brazilian in their fight last Novemeber. 'The Last Stylebender' was also beaten twice by Pereira in kickboxing, losing a controversial decision to his bitter rival in their 2016 meeting before being brutally knocked out by him in their rematch the following year.
It was a tentative start to the opening round of the rematch as both men traded leg kicks with neither two landing anything significant in the first two minutes. Adesanya landed the best strike of the first round by way of a body kick whilst Pereira was just slacking behind in terms of output. Pereira blocked a head kick from Adesanya at the start of the second round and replied with one of his own that briefly put 'Stylebender' on the backfoot.
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Adesanya put his back against the fence after a good flurry from Pereira and 'Poatan' pushed forward to try and seek the finish. Pereira doubled up on his signature left hook but Adesanya countered with an overhand right that staggered the Brazilian, with 'Stylebender' landing another right hand that floored his rival. Pereira was unconscious as he hit the canvas and Adesanya landed one follow-up punch before referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight.
"I told you the hunter is now the hunted. They said revenge is sweet and if you know me I've got a sweet tooth," Adesanya said after his win. "This is f****ng sweet. Alex is a great champion no matter what, he lost the belt tonight but he will always be a champion. In his story I'm the bad guy, but tonight is my story. Him beating me made me a better fighter."
Elsewhere on the UFC 287 card, Jorge Masvidal retired after he was decisively beaten by Gilbert Burns in the co-main event. Adrian Yanez was brutally knocked by Rob Font in the first round whilst Kevin Holland got back in the win column after his lost to Stephen Thompson by knocking out Santiago Ponzinibbio 18-year-old prospect Raul Rosas Jr suffered his first UFC defeat as the teenager was beaten by Christian Rodriguez.
Former title challenger Kelvin Gastelum and Chris Curtis both earned $50,000 performance bonuses for their action-packed fight that Gastelum won by unanimous decision. Joe Pyfer scored a big knockout win against Gerald Meerschaert in just his second fight for the promotion. Loopy Godinez, Ignacio Bahamondes and Sam Hughes all picked up hard-fought decision wins whilst Steve Garcia rallied after an early scare to knockout Shayilan Nuerdanbieke.
