With a sensational knockout victory over Alex Pereira in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 287 event, middleweight champion Israel Adesanya successfully reclaimed his title.
Just five months after he had been defeated by his longtime rival Alex Pereira in a dramatic fifth-round knockout for his title, the former pound-for-pound king quickly regained his status as a dominant fighter. In the main event of the UFC 287 pay-per-view event, which took place in Miami, Israel Adesanya defeated Pereira via knockout in the second round to reclaim his world status.
It was the Nigerian-born, New Zealand-based fighter’s first victory against the Brazilian giant after losing to him twice in professional kickboxing and once by knockout when Pereira took over the 185-pound division at UFC 281 in November of last year.
Following his victory, Adesanya ruled out the idea of a third fight in their MMA trilogy with Pereira, who had previously defeated him to capture the title in November. So, what should we expect instead?
Adesanya had previously remarked that the bout that had just taken place will undoubtedly put an end to the lengthy competition that has been going on between the two fighters.
“I don’t keep score, I settle them and now it’s settled,” Adesanya said. “I gave him a fast-track to the belt, you know?
“I could’ve said, ‘no, who has he fought? He only fought one top-five’, but no. He did well, he fought some alright guys.
“He beat Strickland and I was like, ‘Fine, there’s no-one else’, plus I was looking for that challenge.
“He’s the guy that beat me in kickboxing… that’s why I took that fight. The rematch, I got the immediate rematch, because of what I’ve done in the game.
“I won the belt against Kelvin [Gastelum]. I defended against Rob [Whittaker], [Yoel] Romero, [Paulo] Costa, [Marvin] Vettori, Rob again, [Jared] Cannonier. Seven.
“My other belt would have seven f***ing gems on it.”
When asked about a third bout, Adesanya stands steadfast, urging Pereira to follow the path his massive physique always seemed meant for and make the jump to light-heavyweight, where he would immediately appear as a contender for the title.
“I did the hard yards and I earned my rematch… now he has to do the hard yards, if he wants to do it, but I don’t think he’s going to,” he said. “Go cause problems at 205[lbs] and good luck to everyone else, because he’s a motherf***er to deal with, I’ll tell you that.”
With Pereira’s potential move to light-heavyweight, the question now is who will emerge as the next serious challenger at middleweight. Adesanya has virtually defeated everyone else in the division at this point.
Can Dricus Du Plessis Get a Title Fight Now?
While the hunt continues, Adesanya names South African Dricus Du Plessis as the only fighter on the edge of the top five that he has yet to defeat when asked who could be next.
Dricus Du Plessis, the sixth-ranked middleweight contender, is another fighter to make the transition from kickboxing to MMA.
The fight was heated further when the South African threw a verbal bombshell at Nigerian fighters Adesanya and Usman, implying that his African street cred is more genuine than theirs.
Both Adesanya and Usman have spent their entire lives in their respective countries of residence; Adesanya in New Zealand and Usman in the United States.
hunt continues, Adesanya names South African Dricus Du Plessis as the only fighter on the edge of the top five that he has yet to defeat when asked who could be next.
Dricus Du Plessis, the sixth-ranked middleweight contender, is another fighter to make the transition from kickboxing to MMA.
The fight was heated further when the South African threw a verbal bombshell at Nigerian fighters Adesanya and Usman, implying that his African street cred is more genuine than theirs.
Both Adesanya and Usman have spent their entire lives in their respective countries of residence; Adesanya in New Zealand and Usman in the United States.
“Did those belts ever go to Africa? As far as I know, they came to America and New Zealand. I’m going to take a belt to Africa,” Du Plessis said prior to his appearance at UFC 285.
“I’m the African fighter in the UFC. Myself and (teammate) Cameron (Saaiman), we breathe African air. We wake up in Africa every day. We train in Africa, we’re African born, we’re African raised. We still reside in Africa, we train out of Africa.”
Although the potential suspense is there, Du Plessis will likely need more than one victory to warrant a crack at the title. Nonetheless, it is evident that the statements made by the South African have caused Adesanya to feel passionately about the situation.
“I want to whoop his ass so bad,” he said. “I’ll remind you, because you got to choose your words wisely, when you speak on people that have come before you, people that paved the way for you.
“I pray to God he keeps winning. I will gladly drag his carcass across South Africa.”