By by Oyero Abiodun Yakub
On Sunday, November 13, 2022, the Nigerian-New Zealander professional mixed martial artist loses his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight title to his long-time Brazilian rival, Alex Pereira.
Adesanya, dubbed “The Last Stylebender,” held the Middleweight title since October 2019 before losing it in a five-round match earlier today.
The 23-time champion led all three judges’ scorecards for the first four rounds of the fight, with a 3-1 margin, until he was knocked out by his opponent in the fifth. In the last round that saw the champion emerge, Pereira pursued Adesanya as he made his way to the fence and repeatedly punched him in the face, stunning him and almost knocking him out with multiple blows straight to the face. The referee had to put the fight to a halt after Adesanya’s leg could no longer hold his body to a straight posture.
Pereira had defeated Israel twice in Kickboxing before coming down to the UFC to challenge him for his title, which he eventually won, giving him his third defeat in a row.
