Maybe Alex
Pereira just has Israel
Adesanya’s number.
The Teixeira MMA-trained Brazilian dismissed Adesanya with punches
and laid claim to the undisputed
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight crown in the fifth
round of their UFC
281 headliner on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Adesanya (23-2, 12-2 UFC) checked out 2:01 into Round 5, his reign
atop the 185-pound weight class having concluded after 1,134
days.
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It was a treacherous journey for Pereira (7-1, 4-0 UFC). Adesanya
nearly finished him at the end of the first round, where he cracked
the Glover
Teixeira protégé with an overhand right and followed it with a
crushing left hook as the horn sounded. Pereira recovered during
the respite and rebounded with a strong showing in Round 2.
However, he lost his way as the fight progressed, his movements
becoming increasingly labored after the champion took him down and
grinded on him for nearly four minutes in the third. He entered the
final round likely in need of a knockout. Adesanya failed to manage
distance properly, allowed the challenger to back him to the fence
and paid a steep price for his miscalculation. Pereira followed a
slashing right uppercut with a jarring left hook that set “The Last
Stylebender” on unsteady legs. He then unleashed with power shots
from both hands as Adesanya slouched forward in a defenseless
posture and left his head exposed, prompting referee Marc Goddard
to call for the stoppage.
Zhang Reclaims Strawweight Crown
Weili
Zhang submitted Team Oyama’s Carla
Esparza with a modified rear-naked choke and reclaimed the
undisputed women’s strawweight championship in the second round of
their co-main event. Esparza (19-7, 10-5 UFC) raised the white flag
of surrender 65 seconds into Round 2.
Zhang (23-3, 7-2 UFC) overwhelmed “The Ultimate Fighter 20” winner
with power and technique, on the feet and on the ground. She
peppered Esparza with kicks to the body and head in the second
round, then scrambled into a reverse crucifix position behind the
Californian. Zhang trapped the champion’s right arm with her leg
while simultaneously snaking her arms in place for the choke.
Esparza did what she could to fight the submission with her free
hand but ultimately gave in to the maneuver.
The loss was Esparza’s first since Sept. 8, 2018 and halted her
six-fight winning streak.
Poirier Choke Finishes Chandler
American Top Team’s Dustin
Poirier took care of three-time Bellator MMA champion Michael
Chandler with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their
scintillating lightweight showcase. Poirier (29-7, 21-6 UFC)
slammed the door 2:00 into Round 3, as he emerged victorious in
another “Fight of the Year” contender and bounced back from his
Dec. 11 loss to Charles
Oliveira.
Chandler (23-8, 2-3 UFC) had the Louisiana native reeling with
powerful right hands in the first half of Round 1 and executed a
belly-to-back suplex. Poirier stayed composed, returned to an
upright position and let his educated hands do the rest. He
flurried on Chandler late, pinned him to the fence and teed off
with both hands. If Poirier had but a few more seconds with which
to work, he likely would have ended it there. Chandler stepped out
for the middle stanza with a disfigured face and blood pouring from
his nose. Nevertheless, he struck for a takedown inside the first
30 seconds and kept Poirier bottled up on the canvas for the rest
of the round. Momentum once again proved fleeting. Poirier
countered a high-amplitude takedown at the start of Round 3,
scrambled into top position, cracked the Kill Cliff Fight Club rep
with elbow-laced ground-and-pound and advanced to the back. Soon
after, the choke was in place and Chandler was done.
Poirier, 33, has recorded four victories across his past five
outings.
Gutierrez Knee Stops Edgar
Factory X standout Chris
Gutierrez knocked out a retiring Frankie
Edgar with a brutal knee strike in the second round of their
bantamweight feature. Edgar (24-11-1, 18-11-1 UFC) bowed out 2:01
into Round 1, his remarkable career coming to a close in
ignominious fashion.
Gutierrez (19-4-2, 7-1-1 UFC) circle on the perimeter, unleashed a
few of his patented leg kicks and waited for an opening to present
itself. He fired a knee up the middle that caught Edgar clean on
the chin and propelled him backward onto the canvas in a supine
position. No follow-up shots were required.
The 31-year-old Gutierrez has won four fights in a row.
Hooker Kick Buries Puelles
City Kickboxing’s Dan Hooker
brought down “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America” Season 3 finalist
Claudio
Puelles with a front kick to the body in the second round of
their lightweight attraction. Puelles (12-3, 5-2 UFC) entered the
cage on a five-fight winning streak and packed his bags 4:06 into
Round 2, suffering his first defeat since Nov. 5, 2016.
Hooker (22-12, 12-8 UFC) stayed patient in the face of an
unorthodox approach from the Peruvian. Puelles turned to the
Imanari roll in the first round and ran the former Australian
Fighting Championship titleholder through a precarious heel
hook-kneebar series. Hook cut off his bids for takedowns in Round 2
and zeroed in on the body. A perfectly placed front kick to the
solar plexus doubled over Puelles and prompted referee Keith
Peterson to act.
The win closed the book on a two-fight skid for Hooker.
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UFC 281 Prelims: Ryan Spann Devastates Dominick Reyes