"I wanted to stay southpaw a little bit more" – Israel Adesanya details peroneal nerve injury at UFC 281 and how it affected his ability to fight

Israel Adesanya lost in stunning fashion at UFC 281. He was defeated by Alex Pereira via TKO in the fifth round of a fight he was on his way to winning. Adesanya detailed how a perineal nerve injury suffered during the bout affected his ability as the fight progressed.

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Speaking to the FLAGRANT podcast, Adesanya stated:

"It might have been the second kick he landed... I just felt the nerve shoot up and I was like that's weird, but then throughout the fight it started to - you know, when you're walking and you have heavy feet and you drag it and it drags on the floor? It felt like that every 10-15 seconds. I'll be moving and my toes just catch the ground."

Adesanya added:

"The longer the fight went and the more leg kicks he landed, the worse it got... I normally switch [stances] way more. I would've been switching more. I wanted to stay southpaw a little bit more because my body kick was landing, my straight left was landing, my jab was landing as well from orthodox."

Adesanya's loss to Pereira was the first loss of his middleweight mixed martial arts career. It was also his first TKO loss suffered in mixed martial arts.

Watch Israel Adesanya discuss his perineal nerve injury suffered at UFC 281 below (starting at the 5:30 mark):

Israel Adesanya reveals why he didn't pull out of UFC 281

Israel Adesanya recently revealed that he was injured leading up to UFC 281. The former middleweight champion, however, shared why he didn't pull out of the fight despite his injury.

Speaking to the FLAGRANT podcast, Adesanya stated:

"I was gonna pull out early on but I was like 'Nah, I wanna get this done' because I'm a prideful man. I'm a prideful man. I'll be da**ed if people say I'm scared of this guy because I'm not. I knew I wanted to fight. I knew I wanted to fight, also make a point to fight three times this year."

Despite his loss at UFC 281, Israel Adesanya has opened up as the betting favorite in a potential rematch with Alex Pereira. After controlling the fight prior to his fifth-round knockout loss, Adesanya is likely to be Pereira's first title defense.

Israel Adesanya opens as the favorite in a rematch with Alex Pereira:

Israel Adesanya -150 (2/3)
Alex Pereira +130 (13/10)

(odds via @betonline_ag) 🏆 https://t.co/cOmV4Rj4Of

Watch Israel Adesanya discuss why he didn't pull out of UFC 281 below (starting at the 13:10 mark):