UFC 281: Madison Square Garden; New York City
Well Israel Adesanya played with fire, and he got burned. Whether you think referee Marc Goddard’s stoppage was early or not is inconsequential. He actually saved him from getting crumbled viciously even though Adesanya tried to roll with some of the strikes at the fence. And yes, he’s still a baby in the sport of MMA, and has two glaring holes; but Alex Pereira is a bad man. Overall “The Last Stylebender” was better this time out. However, when fighting a one-hitter quitter you need to pitch a shutout.
The sport has seen many fighters grab victory from the hands of defeat. Holly Holm, Miesha Tate, Leon Edwards, and now add “Poatan” to the list. Granted it happened at 2:01 of the final round though. The champion was on his way to tying another Anderson Silva record.
Sure the new champion hasn’t even showered yet but there are some questions. Is an immediate rematch necessary?, if not ; who gets the next shot?, and how long does Pereira even stay at middleweight?
Alex Pereira Is A Bad Man With An Eye On Being A Great One
Pereira was the only double-champion in GLORY Kickboxing. And you have to now wonder, how long before he attempts it here. Not only for legacy, but because of the huge weight cut he makes. However, one of the first moves the team should make when they get back to Danbury, Connecticut is have Glover Teixeira call Henry Cejudo and see if he’d come in to help with ground work. Because obviously what they’re doing alone isn’t enough. Especially if they want to hold onto the strap.
Perhaps the move might be held off till Teixeira calls it a career. Sort of a team-torch passing like Khabib Nurmagomedov to Islam Makhachev. But for right now the rest of the division is booked up. Although you can imagine Robert Whittaker jumping up and down that he wants a shot right now. Although it’s highly unlikely they ditch him versus Paulo Costa.
If Dana White and the powers that be wanted to really throw caution to the wind and create some chaos; imagine the look on fans faces if they went with Khamzat Chimaev first. After all, he is better at 185 than at welterweight. But again, he needs a decent amount of ground help.
His future at 205 if and when he chooses might be more suited because there’s less ground work there overall. Pereira’s other big issue is cardio. The heavy breathing in that fourth round, and pace slowing could have been bad. And Adesanya did sting him a couple of times, so striking defense needs work as well.
The Final Summation
All issues that usually get polished on the climb up, but doesn’t get to happen in the express lane to a title.
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