Nigerian-New Zealander professional mixed martial artist Israel Mobolaji Adesanya lost to Brazilian Alexsandro Pereira at Ultimate Fighting Champions (UFC) 281 in the early hours of Sunday, November 13, 2022.
Adesanya came into the fight with an impeccable record in the UFC Middleweight division seeking revenge against Pereira who defeated him twice in kickboxing back in 2016 and 2017.
The 33-year-old Adesanya dominated the fight up until midway through the fifth round when he was knocked out through a combination of punches by Pereira.
The Last style bender now loses his UFC middleweight title after five title defenses since he became champion.
Reactions to Adesanya and Usman
Adesanya was the better fighter on the night but Pereira capitalized on a lapse in concentration to knock him out.
Following the conclusion of the fight, Adesanya was up 3-1 on the judges' scorecard before he was knocked out by Pereira.
On his way to the locker room at Madison Square Garden New York, Usman checked on Adesanya.
Izzy rose to the top of the trends following the defeat. There were many positive reactions as he has been champion for a while and is expected to have a rematch with Pereira.
However, there were some Nigerians that were pissed with his performance in the fifth round. This is because former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman suffered the same fate against Leon Edwards.
Just like Adesanya, Usman dominated the fight against Edwards until he was knocked out by a thunderous overhead kick.
Nigeria now has no champion in the UFC following the defeats of Usman and Adesanya. British boxer of Nigerian descent Anthony Joshua also lost his WBO, IBF, IBO, and WBA heavyweight boxing titles to Oleksandr Usyk in a rematch earlier in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Adesanya according to the reactions was expected to learn from the defeat of his compatriot Usman in taking the fifth round with utmost intensity.
See reactions to Usman and Adesanya following the result of the UFC 281 main event.