Alex Pereira knocked out Adesanya in the fifth round and won the UFC belt

In the main event of UFC 281, Alex Pereira from Brazil knocked out Nigerian Israel Adesanya and became the new UFC middleweight champion.

The fight took place in New York at the legendary Madison Square Garden. Adesanya clearly dominated the first four rounds. However, in the final 5 minutes, Pereira went on a protracted attack, made several accurate hits in a row, and the shocked Nigerian could no longer resist. The referee stopped the fight and awarded Pereira the victory by knockout.

Pereira defeated Adesanya for the third time in his career. Earlier, the Brazilian won in kickboxing fights.

The Brazilian became the middleweight champion already in his fourth fight in the UFC, he won 7 victories in MMA. But for Adesanya, this is the second defeat in his career.