UFC 287: Israel Adesanya puts Alex Pereira to sleep with greatest KO ever

Israel "The Last Stylebender" Adesanya (24-2-0) defeated Alex "Poatan" Pereira (7-2-0) with one of the greatest knckouts ever to become the new undisputed UFC middleweight champion of the world Saturday night at FTX Arena in Miami.

Adesanya, 33, regained his title belt after losing to Pereira back in November 2022 during UFC 281. These two fighters also have a history outside the UFC and this is the first time in four bouts that Adesanya gets the better of Pereira.

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The main event of UFC 287 started with both fighters sizing each other up, though Adesanya became the aggressor to finish round one.

Pereira, 35, managed to land a few kicks when they finally traded blows to start round two. He was actually landing over 60 per cent of his strikes before the KO.

Adesanya, who looked more muscular than before, was also a lot more aggressive than in past fights, keeping Pereira on his heels.

Israel Adesanya 'plays possum' vs. Alex Pereira

Just when it seemed like Adesanya was in trouble, his back against the cage, he caught Pereira with a couple of powerful right hooks to put him to sleep.

Adesanya then rubbed salt on Pereira's wounds by spearing him with three fictitious arrows, which is the Brazilian's celebration.

During his postgame inerview with Joe Rogan, Adesanya couldn't contain his excitement, and revealed that he was "playing possum" before knocking out Pereira.

"I hope everyone of you in this arena can feel this level of happiness just one time in your life," Adesanya said.

Jorge Masdival retires

In the co-main event, Jorge Masdival (35-17-0) lost to Gilbert Burns (22-5-0) via unanimous decision, and announced his retirement.

Masdival, 38, has been fighting in the UFC since 2013, but was competing professionally for 10 year prior to that.

The co-main event, though quite interesting, was no match for the excitement during Adesanya vs. Pereira.

A trilogy fight between the two bitter rivals is probably already in the works, especially considering that they are now 1-1 against one another in the UFC.

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