It took seven years, but Israel
Adesanya finally has his first win over Alex
Pereira.
And oh, what a win it was.
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Adesanya regained the middleweight crown with a massive knockout of
Pereira in the UFC 287
headliner at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, on Saturday
night. “The Last Stylebender” brought the show to a close 4:21 into
Round 2 with a finish that will likely end up on many “Knocokout of
the Year” lists when all is said and done. In victory, Adesanya
(24-2, 13-2 UFC) rebounds from a fourth-round TKO loss to Pereira
at UFC 281 this past November.
“They say revenge is sweet, and if you know me, I’ve got a sweet
tooth,” Adesanya said.
After a measured opening round for both men, the action picked up
considerably in the second stanza. Emboldened by his success
landing calf kicks, Pereira (7-2, 4-1 UFC) stalked Adesanya after
buckling his foe’s legs near the fence. As Adesanya shelled up
against the cage, Pereira became careless, unloading with punches
in close quarters, perhaps confident that a finish was imminent. As
it turned out, the end was very near — just not in the way “Poatan”
might have envisioned it. Adesanya responded to the barrage with a
missile of a right hand that put Pereira on his heels before
landing another powerful right that put the proverbial nail in the
coffin. Not leaving anything to chance, Adesanya dove in with one
final hammerfist on his unconscious foe.
“I don’t know what I hit him with, but I played possum a bit,”
Adesanya said. “That last hammerfist was from the gods.”
Pereira still holds a 3-1 lead against Adesanya in a combat sports
series that dates back to their first kickboxing bout in 2016, but
the Nigerian-born Kiwi undoubtedly put his own definitive stamp on
the rivalry at UFC 287.
“No matter what, Alex is a great champion. He lost the belt
tonight, but he will always be a champion,” Adesanya said. In his
story, I’m the antagonist. In his story, I’m the bad guy. But
tonight, it’s my story. History.”
Burns Retires Masvidal
Gilbert
Burns ruined Jorge
Masvidal’s hometown moment.
The Brazilian blended heavy-handed striking with takedowns to
capture a unanimous decision triumph against “Gamebred” in the UFC
287 co-main event. All three judges scored the welterweight contest
in favor of “Durinho:” 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. Masvidal, who has
lost four straight UFC appearances dating back to July 2020,
announced his retirement in the Octagon following the defeat.
Though the Miami throng was firmly behind Masvidal (35-17, 12-10
UFC), the two-time title challenger struggled to get any momentum
going. Burns got the better of the standup, rocking Masvidal with
right hands on multiple occasions. Though “Gamebred” wore it well
and waved Burns forward upon absorbing the blows, he too often came
up short during exchanges on the feet — an area where he was
expected to have an edge. Burns supplemented his advantage by
securing takedowns in every frame. The Kill Cliff FC standout has
won three of four fights since falling to Kamaru
Usman in a welterweight title bout at UFC 258.
Font Stops Yanez in Firefight
Rob
Font halted Adrian
Yanez’s ascent in emphatic fashion, winning via first-round
technical knockout in a bantamweight affair. The 35-year-old Boston
native dropped his foe with a shovel hook to the chin and sealed
his victory with punches and hammerfists on the canvas at the 2:57
mark of the period. Yanez (16-4, 5-1 UFC) sees a nine-bout
professional winning streak snapped in defeat.
Font (20-6, 10-5 UFC) had his trademark jab working from the outset
of the fight, but Yanez was plenty game, as he connected with
multiple right hands that marked up his opponent’s face. Font
appeared to turn the tide for good when he rattled Yanez with an
uppercut in close quarters, and he poured it on from there,
battering his reeling adversary with an onslaught of punches.
Shortly thereafter, Font connected with what turned out to be the
fight-ending blow.
It was Yanez’s first defeat since Nov. 30, 2018.
Holland Wallops Ponzinibbio
Dana White’s Contender Series alum Kevin
Holland snapped a two-fight skid with a knockout of Santiago
Ponzinibbio in a welterweight showdown. “The Trailblazer”
finished his Argentinean opponent 3:16 into Round 3. Ponzinibbio
(29-7, 11-6 UFC) has dropped three of his last four Octagon
appearances.
Holland relied on his length and reach in a tactical approach for
much of the contest, but he also authored the fight’s most
significant moments. In Round 1, Ponzinibbio caught a kick from his
opponent but Holland responded by dropping him to a knee by landing
a backfist while standing on one leg. The end came in the final
frame, when Holland countered a kick with a powerful right hand and
then struck the decisive blow with a left hook to the chin.
Ponzinibbio collapsed face first to the canvas, and Holland landed
just one follow-up blow before Dan Miragliotta stepped in to wave
off the bout. Though Ponzinibbio was effective attacking with calf
kicks throughout the fight, it wasn’t enough to counteract
Holland’s most damaging attacks.
Rodriguez Wears Down Rosas Jr.
Christian
Rodriguez weathered a first-round storm from Raul Rosas
Jr. and pulled away for a unanimous decision triumph in a
bantamweight scrap. The Roufusport product garnered a trio of 29-28
scorecards from the cageside judges for his second consecutive UFC
triumph. Rodriguez missed weight by one pound on Friday.
Rosas Jr. (7-1, 1-1 UFC), who had received a significant
promotional push by virtue of being the youngest fighter on the UFC
roster, set a pace that he couldn’t match in the opening five
minutes. “El Nino Problema” was relentless in his pursuit of the
takedown, and he gave his opponent no breathing room as he jumped
on Rodriguez’s back and aggressively hunted for the rear-naked
choke.
Rodriguez (9-1, 2-1 UFC) kept his composure, made it to the end of
the round and took over down the stretch. He gradually enjoyed more
success defending Rosas Jr.’s takedowns, and when he was grounded,
deftly reversed into top position. The final stanza was Rodriguez’s
best, as he stuffed a Rosas Jr. shot, transitioned to his foe’s
back and spent the majority of the round in control. By the end of
the fight, Rosas Jr. had nothing left in the tank.
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