Flashback! Watch Pereira KO Adesanya Ahead Of UFC 276

The hype surrounding Alex Pereira is well-warranted as the former GLORY middleweight and light heavyweight champion gears up for a 185-pound showdown with Sean Strickland later tonight (Sat., July 2, 2022) at UFC 276 live on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Pereira, who is just 5-1 in his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career and less than one year removed from his UFC debut, doesn’t have much cage fighting experience to lean on. However, “Poatan” is one of the most decorated kickboxers walking the planet right now. One look at any of his fights in GLORY or MMA and it’s easy to see the reason fight fans — even UFC President, Dana White — are so excited for the Brazilian’s UFC takeover.

While Pereira is more than just a one-trick pony, he will forever be tied to his knockout victory over reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya back in 2017 under the GLORY banner. It remains the only knockout loss in Adesanya’s combat career and a victory for Pereira that has set him up pretty nicely since coming over to UFC in 2021.

In advance to Pereira’s match up with Strickland tonight at UFC 276 we take a look back at the Brazilian’s infamous knockout win over Adesanya, who will compete tonight as well, defending his UFC middleweight title against Jared Cannonier.

The Adesanya vs. Pereira highlight video can be seen below:

For what it’s worth, Adesanya recently has this to say about the finish:

“I did the same thing to him in the second fight…. I f***** this guy up in the first fight. Not crazy, but the judges gave it to him. In the second fight, I had him on skates and I made a judgment call, an error on my part, and it was a beautiful story for him, because in his backyard, down two rounds, in the third round he come and knocks me out. That’s a beautiful story for him…. Go back to UFC 92. Wanderlei Silva vs. Rampage Jackson. That’s a clear example of how I see this going the third time. He who laughs last, laughs best, and I’m going to have the last laugh.”

We’ll find out one way or another tonight at UFC 276 if Pereira is ready to take the next step in his MMA career. If the former GLORY double champ can get past Strickland he could very well line himself up for a rematch with “Last Stylebender” and a shot at UFC’s 185-poud strap.

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MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 276 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ABC/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 276: “Adesanya vs. Cannonier” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.