On 12 November, 2022 at UFC 281, Israel Adesanya suffered a devastating first defeat at middleweight to lose his belt to old kickboxing rival Alex Pereira in a classic UFC 281 showdown.
The Brazilian, in only his fourth fight in the organisation, looked on course to lose a decision before he plucked victory from the jaws of defeat and delivered a late TKO.
Madison Square Garden erupted as Marc Goddard stepped in to prevent any more punishment, some felt prematurely. Pereira now has a win in MMA over Adesanya to go with his two triumphs in kickboxing before the pair changed sports.
The loss to Pereira is Adesanya’s second loss in as many as 23 UFC matches.
However, it was his third loss to Pereira, with the previous losses coming in kickboxing, as stated earlier.
With the win, Pereira becomes a UFC champion in just his eighth mixed martial arts contest.
Pereira enters 2023 as the champion of one of the most dangerous divisions in the sport.
