Coach Was Scared For Israel Adesanya's Life After Alex Pereira Knockout

By: Shreya Jha Image Credit: UFC

Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya's coach Eugene Bareman recalls the time when Adesanya was knocked out by Alex Pereira in kickboxing.

Israel Adesanya faced Alex Pereira in Glory Kickboxing back in 2017 in Brazil. It was a rematch after their first meeting a year earlier in China.

Adesanya and Pereira were fighting at the same level for the first two rounds, but in the third round Adesanya was knocked down by Pereira and he fell to the ground completely unconscious.

Coach Bareman was asked how he felt about Adesanya’s KO defeat against former Glory kickboxing rival Alex Pereira in the latest episode of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani.

"I didn’t care about the fight then...But my immediate concern even to this day is just flashbacks of trying to get to Israel and make sure he’s okay", said Bareman on The MMA Hour.

This was Pereira's second successive win over the Nigerian New Zealander. He beat him the first time in 2016 by a decision in Shenzen, China.

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira will meet again, this time for the UFC middleweight belt in UFC 281 this Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

The current middleweight champion has defended his title five successive times. If he beats Pereira on Saturday, he is all set to go down as middleweight GOAT.

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