Jon Jones reacts to spectacular UFC 268 debut of Alex Pereira, the only man to knock Israel Adesanya out

Jon Jones (left), Alex Pereira (top) & Israel Adesanya (bottom) [Image Credits- @thecomorian on Twitter]

Alex Pereira, the only fighter to KO Israel Adesanya, has put the UFC's middleweight division on notice. He secured a shocking second-round KO in his promotional debut against Andreas Michailidis.

In the wake of the Brazilian's performance on the UFC 268 preliminary card, Jon Jones tweeted his thoughts on the UFC's middleweight division moving forward:

"Things just got real interesting at middleweight," wrote Jon Jones.

Things just got real interesting at middleweight

Only a handful of fights into his career, Alex Pereira is something of a mysterious force on the MMA scene. Pereira is hailed as the only fighter to have bested UFC middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya - albeit in kickboxing. His victories over Adesanya have sparked plenty of interest in his arrival in the UFC cage.

When Israel Adesanya required medical attention after getting KO'd by Alex Pereira

The former two-division GLORY kickboxing champion initially brought Adesanya's winning streak to an end in 2016 with a unanimous decision win. Adesanya got another shot at Pereira the following year but was again defeated, this time via knockout.

A left hook from Pereira left Adesanya crashing to the mats. The damage was so severe that the Kiwi required immediate medical attention after he initially failed to regain consciousness.

Watch Israel Adesanya's KO loss against Alex Pereira right here:

Alex Pereira's history with the middleweight champion only works to build on his stock inside the octagon. Boasting the only KO win over Israel Adesanya, Pereira's arrival in the UFC has been greeted with a lot of interest and hype.

Although Israel Adesanya has reigned supreme over the middleweight division for quite some time, his KO loss at the hands of Pereira hangs above his head like a dark cloud.

It is only a matter of time before the UFC's matchmakers pit the former foes against each other for a highly anticipated rematch. Considering the way Pereira performed in his promotional debut, it seems like that day might come soon.