Israel Adesanya Beats Alex Pereira, Mocks Rival’s Son With ‘Playing Dead’ In UFC Title Victory

Summary:

• Israel Adesanya regains the middleweight title with a second-round knockout of Alex Pereira at UFC 287.
• Adesanya avenges a previous loss, evening their UFC head-to-head record at 1-1.
• After the fight, Adesanya mocks Pereira’s son by mimicking “playing dead,” referencing a past incident.

Miami, FL (MandyNews.com) – In a highly anticipated rematch at UFC 287, Israel Adesanya took back the middleweight title from Alex Pereira, delivering a second-round knockout and getting the last laugh by mocking Pereira’s son in the process.

Adesanya, who is also known as “The Last Stylebender,” beat Pereira early on Sunday morning in Miami. The Brazilian fighter was knocked out and left unconscious on the ground.

A series of right-handed blows sent Pereira tumbling to the ground, where Adesanya continued to hit him with hammer fists until the fight was over.

However, it was Adesanya’s post-fight actions that have garnered attention. The 33-year-old sought out Pereira’s son in the crowd and fell to the ground, mimicking playing dead.

This was in retaliation for an earlier incident in which Pereira’s son had mocked Adesanya after his second kickboxing loss to Pereira at Glory of Heroes 7 in Sao Paolo.

At that time, Pereira’s son entered the ring and laid on the ground next to Adesanya, imitating his defeat.

When questioned about the incident during the post-fight press conference, Adesanya explained his motivation. “I’m petty, bro,” he admitted. “I remember the first time [Pereira] knocked me out in Brazil, and his son came into the ring and then started to lie dead next to me, and I’m like, ‘you f*****g little a****le. I’ll whoop your ass if your dad doesn’t do it for you.'”

Adesanya continued, “But then, yeah, I looked for his kid, and I pointed at him, and I saw him, and I was like, hey, hey, hey, [mimics falling to the floor] just to remind him.”

The bitter rivals now stand at an even 1-1 record in their UFC encounters, though Pereira still holds two victories over Adesanya in kickboxing.

Both fighters have insulted each other in the media and teased each other throughout their careers, which shows how much they dislike each other.

With this latest victory, Adesanya avenged his previous loss to Pereira at UFC 281 in November 2022, where Pereira won by a fifth-round TKO at Madison Square Garden in New York.

It’s not clear yet if the rivalry between Adesanya and Pereira will continue or if this win will be the end of their story.

Even so, Adesanya’s triumphant return to the top of the middleweight division has no doubt sparked a new chapter in his already long and successful career.