Watch: Super slow-mo replay of Israel Adesanya’s perfect 4 punch combo that KO’d Alex Pereira at UFC 287
Last night at UFC 287, Israel Adesanya produced one of the greatest performances of his career. ‘The Last Stylebender’ knocked out heated rival Alex Pereira to reclaim the UFC middleweight title he lost last November.
Israel Adesanya defeated Alex Pereira via second-round knockout, turning out his lights despite being largely on the defensive at the time. In real-time, the strikes landed by ‘The Last Stylebender’ might’ve been hard to spot, outside of the right hand that knocked Pereira to the ground.
A super-slow-motion replay posted to Twitter has revealed that Adesanya caught ’Poatan’ with four clean punches before finishing him off with a couple of extra strikes on the ground.
Twitter user @TheArtOfWar6 stated, “God damn that 1-2 was clean.” Judging by the clip, he isn’t wrong.
God damn that 1-2 was clean
https://t.co/xaUF17jxPW
The clip shows Adesanya absorbing a glancing left hand from Pereira before returning fire with a short left hand to the jaw and then a beautiful right hook directly to the temple. From there, Adesanya lands another right hook to the temple, and as ‘Poatan’ appears to be on his way down, follows with a short left uppercut.
Unsurprisingly, the slow-motion clip has received plenty of attention from other Twitter users, with one remarking that “Izzy has the best counters in the game.”
@TheArtOfWar6 Izzy has the best counters in the game
Perhaps the best reaction to Adesanya’s big win, though, came from his teammate Alexander Volkanovski. The reigning UFC featherweight champion was seen celebrating backstage, seemingly ecstatic for his friend and training partner.
#UFC287Volko’s reaction to Izzy’s knockout win over pereira😭❤️ #UFC287 https://t.co/aPKeT2o76Q
What happened after the fight between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira at UFC 287?
Despite the rivalry between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira being an intense and heated one, a clip taken backstage after their fight at UFC 287 suggests that the two middleweights have plenty of respect for one another.
The clip shows Adesanya shaking Pereira’s hand before the two men embrace in a show of mutual admiration, demonstrating once again the amount of class seen at the highest level of MMA.
#UFC287Nothing but respect between Adesanya and Pereira 👏 #UFC287 https://t.co/LbUA7rWvgL
Prior to their fight last night, Adesanya and Pereira had faced off on three occasions, with ‘Poatan’ winning all three bouts. Two of his wins ended via knockout, including his UFC middleweight title victory last November.
Many fans have already suggested that a fifth fight between the two should be put together, but Dana White has hinted that a move to 205lbs could lie in the future for Pereira instead.