Israel Adesanya knocks out Alex Pereira to reclaim UFC middleweight title at UFC 287

Israel Adesanya knocked out Alex Pereira in the second round at UFC 287. Photo / Getty Images

When Israel Adesanya’s career is over, no victory will be as sweet as this one.

After losing his UFC middleweight title to Alex Pereira last November, Adesanya took it right back with a second-round knockout.

It’s not the fact he won his title back, or that he scored a spectacular knockout that drew the widest of smiles from the Nigerian-Kiwi as he stood triumphant in the octagon, but who it was against.

Adesanya had previously been unable to get the better of Pereira in three attempts - twice in kickboxing and once under the UFC umbrella - dating back to their first meeting in 2016. Two of those losses had come by stoppage.

But as he has shown throughout his career, Adesanya is not one to back down from a challenge. As a champion, he always sought the hardest fights, and after losing the belt by stoppage, he was ready to get right back in there against arguably the heaviest hitter in the division.

There was a different aura to Adesanya leading into the bout; a more determined approach, as he constantly said this was his last chance at Pereira. He donned a dog collar for most of the week ahead of the fight, in reference to the 2005 film Unleashed, in which a man has been trained as a ‘human attack dog’ weapon who attacks when his collar has been taken off. Essentially, he made his intentions clear.

“I’m coming for his head,” he told the Herald leading into the fight.

Whether it was his last chance or not, the 33-year-old did not miss his opportunity.

In a tense fight between two high-level strikers, it was a strong right hand with his back against the wall that did the damage for Adesanya; stunning his Brazilian counterpart before he sent Pereira to the canvas with a two-punch combination and landed one more strong right hand to shut the lights off.

“They say revenge is sweet, and if you know me, I’ve got a sweet tooth. You already know, this is f***ing sweet,” Adesanya said.

“Alex is a great champion, no matter what. He will always be a great champion, but he lost the belt tonight. In his story, I’m the antagonist. In his story, I’m the bad guy. But tonight it’s my story. History.

“I told [Alex] just before, ‘Thank you for all you’ve done, thank you for beating me’, because [in] beating me, he made me a better fighter and a better person. In this camp, I didn’t f*** around ... I stayed on the grind, and I put myself through it.”

Much like their first fight, both athletes attacked the legs of the other in the early going, with leg kicks the only offence through the opening exchanges.

But Adesanya was noticeably more aggressive this time around. He didn’t wait to throw his combinations and went after Pereira. Both fighters had good moments in the first round, but Adesanya was the more active of the two fighters and landed the more powerful strikes.

It was a similar case early in the second round, but as the round went on, Pereira looked to be feeling more comfortable and landing some strong shots of his own. His investment in attacking Adesanya’s lead leg looked like it would pay dividends late in the round, when a heavy leg kick looked to have hurt Adesanya as the challenger responded by leaning back against the fence with a high, tight defensive guard.

Perhaps he was hurt, perhaps he was playing possum, but Pereira sensed an opportunity and began to unload. But his shots were answered by a thunderous right hand, and it was instead Adesanya who finally put the finishing touches on the bout.

The win was Adesanya’s 13th in 15 fights with the UFC and his fifth knockout, and saw him reclaim his throne at the top of the middleweight division.