Adesanya knocks out Pereira in second round
It took Israel Adesanya just two rounds to end Alex Pereira’s dominance and reclaim the middleweight title he lost last November.
It was the fourth fight between the pair, with Pereira beating Adesanya twice in kickboxing before following the Nigerian-New Zealander into mixed martial arts, where he took Adesanya’s UFC title with a TKO in November.
But at the fourth time of asking, Adesanya finally beat his long-time rival, freezing Pereira with a right hook in Round 2 before dropping the champion with another and finishing the fight with a hammer fist.
In the co-main event, Jorge Masvidal suffered a points loss to Gilbert Burns before retiring from MMA.
Masvidal, in front of a home crowd in Miami, called time on a 20-year career and praised former US president Donald Trump, who was ringside.
Trump sat in the front row with Mike Tyson and UFC president Dana White, and the Miami-Dade Arena crowd erupted when the 76-year-old arrived.
UK Independent.
