Nigerian-born New Zealander Israel Adesanya is a UFC champion once again after delivering a vicious knockout to his greatest foe Alex Pereira late in the second round at UFC 287 in Miami.
Adesanya has been in the shadows of the Brazilian since 2017 when they first met in kick-boxing.
He had lost his championship to the Brazilian in November last year but when he was backed against the cage he pulled off a spectacular KO, which he said “was from the gods” in his post-fight interview.
Both fighters had a cautious first round with a barrage of leg kicks from both ends with Pereira targeting Adesanya’s right calf, much like he did in their last UFC bout.
They opened up in the second round, standing toe to toe and both landing punches.
But one fierce punch from Izzy’s right hand put out Pereira’s lights and handed the belt back to the Nigerian.
Just before the decisive punch, it was looking like it was going to be a repeat of November when Pereira had Adesanya boxed into a corner, sending head kicks and body shots.
Adesanya’s response came out of the blues and caught Pereira unaware, putting him to sleep just like it was for Adesanya during their meeting in kick-boxing.
“I changed the tactics up a bit and I listen to my corner and I trusted my instinct,” Adesanya said.
The 33-year-old then threw a hammer-fist while Pereira was on the mat and the referee quickly stopped the fight before he could land a second.
“This is a sweet sweet victory and you know I have a sweet tooth. The hunter is now the hunted,” Adesanya said during his post fight interview inside the octagon.
Adesanya celebrated his victory by mimicking shooting three arrows into his floored opponent, reclaiming his middleweight championship belt.
“I don’t keep score, I settle them, now it’s settled,” Adensaya added.
In the co-main event, Gilbert Burns put on a dominant performance against Jorge Masvidal, winning via unanimous decision in the welterweight division.
It would turn out to be Masvidal’s last fight in the UFC, with the veteran announcing his retirement after the fight. He fought 52 times, won 35 times with 18 of those knockout victories.
In the bantamweight division, Rob Font knocked out Adrian Yanez with a vicious right hook in the first round.
Earlier in the card, Christian Rodriguez defeated Raul Rosas Jnr via decision in the bantamweight division which went all three rounds while Kevin Holland knocked out Santiago Ponzinibbio with a left-hook to the jaw in the third round of their welterweight bout.
