Pereira stuns Adesanya by TKO to claim UFC title

NEW YORK -- Alex Pereira had Israel Adesanya's fig successful kickboxing. And helium has it successful MMA, too.

Pereira, the lone antheral to ever sound retired Adesanya, stopped him again via TKO astatine 2 minutes, 1 2nd of the 5th and last circular Saturday nighttime successful the main lawsuit of UFC 281 astatine Madison Square Garden. With the victory, Pereira won the UFC middleweight rubric successful conscionable his 4th combat with the promotion. Adesanya was the champion since 2019.

Adesanya had been winning the combat until the last sequence, with Pereira firing a barrage of punches with Adesanya wounded against the cage. Referee Marc Goddard stepped successful to halt it aft a flurry of near hooks and close hands.

The 2 fought doubly earlier successful kickboxing with Pereira winning some times, the astir caller a 2017 knockout of Adesanya.

Coming in, ESPN had Adesanya ranked No. 2 connected its pound-for-pound database of champion MMA fighters. At middleweight, Adesanya was No. 1 and Pereira was ranked No. 7.

Pereira (7-1) knocked retired Sean Strickland successful the archetypal circular astatine UFC 276 successful July to gain the rubric shot. The Brazilian slugger has six KO/TKOs successful 7 vocation MMA victories and is 4-0 successful the UFC. Pereira, 35, is simply a erstwhile Glory Kickboxing middleweight and airy heavyweight champion.

Adesanya (23-2) had won 3 consecutive fights and was undefeated astatine middleweight coming into this bout. His lone vocation nonaccomplishment earlier this was successful a airy heavyweight rubric combat past twelvemonth against Jan Blachowicz. The Nigerian-born New Zealand nonmigratory had 5 palmy middleweight rubric defenses pursuing a triumph implicit Whittaker to gain the loop successful October 2019. Adesanya, 33, was coming disconnected a unanimous determination triumph implicit Jared Cannonier astatine UFC 276 successful July.