UFC 281- ‘When you actually fight’: Yoel Romero, Teofimo Lopez, Khamzat Chimaev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and others react to Alex Pereira knocking out Israel Adesanya:
Israel Adesanya lost to Alex Pereira for the third time in his combat career, surrendering the UFC middleweight crown in the fifth round of their main-event clash. Despite starting strongly, Adesanya couldn’t maintain his momentum in the fight and fell prey to Alex Pereira’s solid combinations.
Israel Adesanya almost stopped his Brazilian rival by the end of round one, but ‘Poatan’ survived by the bell. ‘Izzy’ continued to dominate the fight by applying wrestling tactics and even scored his first takedown in the promotion. Although Alex Pereira landed a few shots, he wasn’t in charge of the fight until the final round.
Pereira sensed Israel Adesanya’s weakness and kept pressing him with blows in the final stage. ‘Izzy’ didn’t have a response to any of those shots and remained on the wrong end of a lopsided beatdown. While many were shocked to see Adesanya lose, a few, like Yoel Romero, threw a shade on ‘The Last Stylebender’. Here’s how social media reacted to Alex Pereira knocking out Israel Adesanya.
easy money 💸💸💸🤪🤪🤪
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) November 13, 2022
Jesus Christ adesanya grappler lol 😂
— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) November 13, 2022
This is what happens when you actually fight #UFC281
— Peoples Champ (@YoelRomeroMMA) November 13, 2022
BS I had to land 50 unanswered shots to get a stoppage, that was weak!!!#UFC281
— Jamahal Hill (@JamahalH) November 13, 2022
Oh shittt!!!! #UFC281 pic.twitter.com/OSbB7DbKkF
— Teofimo Lopez (@TeofimoLopez) November 13, 2022
I don't miss Adesanya's fights and actually feel like he doesn’t get the credit he deserve.
If he defends the title a couple more times, he will be on the same level with Jon Jones.
Good luck @stylebender #ufc281— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) November 13, 2022
I wonder what Alex weighed today
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) November 13, 2022
As we said u can’t let Pereira be set to punch. This time Foreman won. #UFC281
— Teddy Atlas (@TeddyAtlasReal) November 13, 2022
The longer this goes the better for Izzy IMO #UFC281
— Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (@WonderboyMMA) November 13, 2022
Alex Pereira claims it in the fifth. Unbelievable. I could watch those two fight 10 more times.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) November 13, 2022
Also Read | UFC 281:- Alex Pereira TKOs Israel Adesanya to become the new middleweight champion, full card results
What’s next for Israel Adesanya after the UFC 281 loss?
Israel Adesanya has suffered his first loss in the UFC middleweight division and his second in the promotion at UFC 281. However, he is still a prize fighter and one of the biggest prospects at 185 lbs. Having defended the middleweight belt multiple times, ‘Izzy’ is bound to get another shot at him. It is unclear whether he will go for an immediate rematch or accept a few non-title fights before. That said, people have already begun to discuss the potential rematch between the two.
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira can cross paths again in the UFC, but Adesanya clearly needs to upgrade his game. He looked promising for several moments, but like always, Alex Pereira managed to beat him down. With a new middleweight champion in Alex Pereira, the whole 185 lbs UFC roster is currently on notice.
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