Nigerian-born kickboxer Israel Adesanya lost his middleweight title after suffering a shock defeat in the hands of Alex Pereira on Sunday morning, November 13, 2022.
The 33-year-old was knocked out in the final round of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 281 held at Madison Square in New York City, United States.
Pereira knocked down Adesanya in the fifth round after giving him countless punches to the face to the point that the referee intervened and declared him the champion.
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At the start of the fight, Adesanya was in control. He got the opportunity to knock out Pereira in the first round but failed to take it.
In the third round, Israel had a chance to end the fight but he held back again.
Adesanya’s move allowed the Brazilian to slowly get into the game, and in the end humiliated him.
Israel, who is the first born in a family of five, has lost to Pereira for a third time now within a period of six years. Pereira also defeated the Lagos-born ace in 2016 and 2017.
2022 has not been a good year for Nigerian kickboxers. This is the second time in a space of three months that a mixed martial artist from the West African nation has lost his UFC title.
On Monday, August 31, Kamaru Usman nicknamed “The Nigerian Nightmare” lost his welterweight title after being humiliated by English international Leon Edwards in Salt Lake City, Utah
In another match, Chinese woman Zhang Weili overpowered Carla Esparza of the United States to bag the strawweight title.