Alex Pereira Finally Admits Israel Adesanya Could’ve “Finished the Fight”

Alex Pereira is on the top of this world after his Middleweight Championship win against Israel Adesanya in UFC 281. The ‘Brazilian’ went on to score a ‘standing knockout’ victory over ‘The Last Stylebender’ in the final round of the bout. Recently, ‘Poatan’ appeared in the famed MMA coverage personality, Ariel Helwani’s podcast, ‘MMA Hour’.

His cornerman translator also accompanied him to Helwani’s podcast. Pereira gave his views on several questions thrown by Helwani, including his shaky condition at the end of the initial round of the bout.

Alex Pereira admitted that the fight could’ve slipped out of his hands after the first round

Helwani questioned Pereira about his condition after absorbing ‘Izzy’s’ strikes at the end of the first round. He iterated, “Could you tell us about how hurt were you at the ending of the first round where it seemed like he rocked you?”

‘Poatan’ replied in his native language, which was translated by his companion. Pereira’s translator quoted, “The beginning of the round-up to what happened was a normal fight for me”. It was apparent that Pereira knew that these sorts of things are bound to happen in an MMA bout. He clearly possessed the idea that he cannot keep hitting all the time. He will have to absorb a few shots as well.

Pereira’s cornerman further translated his answer, saying, “After that punch, I went to my corner thinking that I got hit once. So you see how much I felt that and I not even see the second one”. Pereira “not seeing” the second strike from Adesanya might have been a factor that rocked him even more.

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He also stated that “it could’ve been over in 20 more seconds or could not have been over. Yeah, maybe he could’ve finished the fight”. 

Pereira was clueless about Adesanya’s strikes at the end of the first round

Ariel Helwani discussed the proceedings of the first round of the bout. He expressed to Pereira, “First round was looking great for you until the final five seconds. He [Pereira’s cornerman cum translator] believes and a lot more people believe that maybe 30 more seconds and it could be deep trouble for you”.

‘Poatan’ began the initial round of his bout with a thunderous up-kick, but couldn’t land it on his target. Pereira also showed his dominance in the clinch, landing a few knees on ‘Izzy’s’ body. But Adesanya freed himself and landed a brutal right-left combination which visibly rocked Pereira. Just at the next moment, the fight clock signaled the end of the round.

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Adesanya’s strikes visibly rocked Pereira. A lot of fight fans would agree that Pereira could’ve lost the bout if that round went on for about 30 seconds more.

What do you think? Could Adesanya finish off Pereira if there were 20-30 more seconds in the initial round?