UFC 281: Pereira dethrones Israel Adesanya as UFC Middleweight Champion

Brazil’s Alex Pereira pulled off an upset against Israel Adesanya with a technical knockout in the fifth round during the main event at the UFC 281 to become the new UFC middleweight champion.

Israel Adesanya’s reign as UFC middleweight champion came to a brutal end at the hands of Alex Pereira.

This defeat ends the Stylebender’s reign atop the middleweight division. The event held at the Madison Square Garden, New York.

The Last Stylebender renewed his rivalry with the Glory double champ early on Sunday morning in the main event of UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The pair fought twice before in the kickboxing world credit: GLORYAdesanya, 33, went into the penultimate pay-per-view main event of the year looking to avenge the br¥tal knockout loss he suffered to Pereira in his final kickboxing bout five years ago. But the same fate befell him in the fifth round in front of a sold-out crowd at The World’s Most Famous Arena.

Adesanya was likely up on the scorecards, three rounds to one when he slipped in the middle of the octagon. He tried to recover, but it was the beginning of the end. As Adesanya retreated to the fence, Pereira followed and peppered him with punches to the face, stunning him and nearly knocking him unconscious. Referee Marc Goddard ended the fight as Adesanya’s body went limp, though Adesanya protested the stoppage as he attempted to regain his composure.

It’s Adesanya’s first loss in the middleweight division and only his second loss in mixed martial arts.