All Israel Adesanya needed was a sensational second-round knockout to overcome his long-time adversary Alex Pereira and exorcise a demon.
In their first bout, a kickboxing match, Adesanya lost on points to Pereira. Adesanya was in the lead during their second kickboxing battle until he was eliminated. In their first MMA fight in November 2022, Adesanya was once again on top, but he was defeated in the last round.
On Sunday, Adesanya, also known as The Last Stylebender, defeated Pereira in shocking fashion with a knockout at minute 4:21 of Round 2.
At the end of the fight, Adesanya said he was “playing possum” against the fence, waiting for a moment to strike.
And he did strike. It was a crisp right hook out of nowhere that still stunned Pereira. Pereira was knocked down by the subsequent right hook.
One hammer fist, and the fight was waved off, but Pereira was already out cold after the second hook.
In the end, Adesanya made good on what was likely his last chance to beat Pereira and improved his MMA fight record to 24-2 (13-2 UFC), while Pereira (7-2 MMA) suffered his first loss in the UFC (4-1 UFC).