Israel Adesanya is currently the happiest man alive on Earth! In the UFC 287 main event, Israel Adesanya just flatlined Alex Pereira to regain his middleweight title in Miami. The entire crowd present inside the arena exploded during the sequence of Izzy’s knockdown punch and the subsequent hammer first that KO’ed Poatan. However, one person who did not seem to enjoy the finish was Robert Whittaker.
Alongside UFC Hall of Famer Jens Pulver, Robert Whittaker was doing a watch along on the official UFC YouTube channel. Hence, he was on air when the KO blow from Adesanya landed at the 4:21 minute mark of the second round. While Pulver went ballistic over the finish, Robert’s reaction was much subdued in comparison. After the initial shock, Whittaker went awfully quiet and did not have much input throughout the rest of the stream.
There is a reason behind Whittaker’s silence during the stream. If Pereira had remained the champion, Whittaker was next in line to challenge for the belt. However, now that Adesanya has the belt, Whittaker may not get the next crack at the title. He and Izzy have already fought twice at UFC 243 and UFC 271 respectively, with Whittaker losing both. So another title opportunity seems unlikely at this point.
Israel Adesanya gets his revenge against Alex Pereira at UFC 287
Heading into UFC 287, there was a lot of pressure on Israel Adesanya. Adesanya and Pereira had fought each other three times across MMA and kickboxing. However, it was Alex who maintained his domination and managed to win all three of those bouts. Hence, another defeat against Pereira would have been damaging to his legacy as one of the best middleweight fighters of all time.
ISRAEL ADESANYA KNOCKS ALEX PEREIRA OUT COLD! 🥶
🏆 @Stylebender WITH THE SWEETEST VICTORY OF HIS CAREER! #UFC287 pic.twitter.com/2QnUA9JJVi
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) April 9, 2023
Hence, it came as an incredible relief that he won the bout against the Brazilian kickboxer, and that too via KO. After the bout, Israel’s swagger was on full display inside the Octagon. He even channeled his inner Jorge Masvidal and mocked Pereira’s devastating KO by dropping down to the Octagon floor and imitating, similar to what Jorge did after KO’ing Ben Askren.
However, during the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Izzy validated Alex’s time as the champ. But he made sure to express how big the occasion was for him as well!
Adesanya added, “Alex is a great champion, no matter what. He lost the belt tonight, but he will always be a champion In his story, I’m the antagonist, in his story, I’m the bad guy. But tonight, it’s my story. History!”
With both Adesanya and Pereira winning one fight each, do you want to see a trilogy? Let us know in the comments down below.
Discussion about this post