“When It Was Time…”– Israel Adesanya Explains How He Baited Alex Pereira Towards the Knockout and Reclaimed the Middleweight Title

Many people weren’t confident in Israel Adesanya to topple Alex Pereira, considering his record against the Brazilian. However, none of those opinions mattered when ‘The Last Stylebender’ registered a second-round knockout victory to win and reclaim his middleweight title. The Nigerian-born New Zealand fighter explained how he baited ‘Poatan’ for the KO victory.

Israel Adesanya is now a two-time UFC middleweight champion. Many believe that has to be in the top five greatest fighters after a statement win in the UFC 287 headliner. Adesanya was rejoicing in his win when he made an appearance on the UFC broadcast panel following his main event fight.

Israel Adesanya explains how he tricked Alex Pereira

‘The Last Stylebender’ mentioned that Pereira wasn’t used to being pursued in all of their four fights. He said, “He [Pereira] wasn’t used to me hunting him down. I told y’all… in every sense of the word, I’m gonna hunt him down.” Adesanya added, “I hunted him down and when it was time, I set the trap.”

Adesanya enjoyed setting the trap as he laughed hysterically. He claims to have baited Pereira into thinking that he was in a predicament during the fight. Izzy added, “I set the trap on him. He thought like, ‘Oh, I see the holes in his game.’ But when you dive into that hole, you don’t realize [that] it’s not a hole, it’s a f***ing trap… I showed him the light.” Adesanya even shared a story on Instagram explaining his knockout win.

‘The Last Stylebender’ embraces Pereira after the fight

Adesanya has no grudges against the former middleweight champion and his toughest rival, ‘Poatan’. Both fighters embraced each other after the fight inside the octagon and were also caught sharing a moment of embrace backstage after the fight.

There is no animosity between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira despite their longstanding beef. Izzy even mentioned earlier before the fight that he was lucky to fight someone of ‘Poatan’s caliber. He helped him get to the next level as a fighter.

READ MORE: After Getting It Wrong About Alex Pereira at UFC 287, Boxer Ryan Garcia Pens a Message to Israel Adesanya

Adesanya proved his doubters wrong by not just winning the fight, but by knocking out his arch-rival. We will have to wait and see whom he fights next with many middleweight fighters yearning for a shot at the middleweight title.

WATCH THIS STORY: The Saga of Bad Blood Between Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya