BY ANDREW EKEJIUBA
In the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 287, Israel Adesanya defeated Alex Pereira to reclaim the UFC middleweight belt.
The Nigerian-born New Zealander knocked out the Brazilian in the fourth minute of the second round of the fight, which took place on Sunday morning, April 9, at the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida.
Adesanya entered UFC 287 having lost three of his previous three fights against Pereira.
He was knocked out in round five of a fight he was winning last year at UFC 281, the middleweight duo’s first MMA meeting.
Prior to the fight, Pereira ended Adesanya’s 12-fight kickboxing winning streak with a contentious unanimous decision victory, prompting a rematch.
Pereira put Adesanya out cold on the canvas a year later, and he later required oxygen as he struggled to regain consciousness.
“In this camp, I didn’t f* around. If you know me, you know I like a vacation but I didn’t f* around, I stayed on the grind.
“I’ve been putting myself through it; you can see it on FREESTYLEBENDER on YouTube. I don’t put my highlights on Instagram, I put in work.
“I get tired so that when I get in here, I don’t get tired.”
The win over Pereira is Adesanya’s 24th in his career in mixed martial arts (MMA).
