Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya defeated Alex Pereira to win back the 185-pound championship at UFC 287 after having lost to ‘Poatan’ three previous times.
Adesanya and Pereira fought twice in kickboxing before facing off for the firs time in MMA at UFC 281 last November. Pereira defeated Adesanya by decision in their first kickboxing match but knocked him out in the second. He stopped in at UFC 281 as well.
Adesanya faced his boogieman and put him down in the second round of the UFC 287 main event in dramatic fashion.
After the fight, ‘The Last Stylebender’ made it clear that there wouldn’t be a third fight between the two inside the octagon anytime soon. It’s likely that Pereira will try his hand in the light heavyweight division for his next bout, but a trilogy with Adesanya would be massive.
“I don’t keep score. I settle them,” said Adesanya during the UFC 287 Post-Fight Press Conference. “Now it’s settled.”
“It’s done. It’s done. I don’t keep scores. I settle them,” reiterated the newly crowned two-time champion. “He’s had his story and now it’s my story. I’ve closed that chapter.”
“Go cause problems at 205, and good luck to everyone else because he’s a motherf**ker to deal with. I’ll tell you that,” Adesanya continued. ”
Adesanya released a reaction video to his knockout of Pereira. In the video, Adesanya expresses sympathy for who has to take on Pereira next.
“Good luck to the next motherf***er fighting this guy,” Adesanya said. “They’re going to see how easy it is. Take him down. That’s probably the best thing you can do. If you want to standup with this guy, f***ing good luck. Good luck. You’re going to need it.”
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Israel Adesanya: ‘Good luck to the next motherf***er fighting this guy’