Brazilian MMA fighter Alex Pereira has defeated Israel Adesanya to win the UFC Middleweight title at UFC 281. The five-round championship match went the distance. Pereira got the better of Adesanya with a flurry of punches to win the bout. It was just Pereira’s fourth fight under the promotion and with this title win, he became the second least experienced UFC Champion of the modern era. This impressive win means he etched his names alongside WWE star Brock Lesnar in the record books.
Adesanya had a dominant run as the champion of his division, and this was his sixth consecutive title defense. He looked assured in the early exchanges. However, Pereira was able to turn the tables and came out on top in this much anticipated title bout. With this win, Pereira became the second-least experienced UFC Champion behind only Brock Lesnar.
Alex Pereira creates history alongside Brock Lesnar
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Alex Pereira has had a meteoric rise to fame in the UFC. The Brazilian won three successive fights in the UFC since his debut and continued his streak with a massive win against Israel Adesanya. This was also not the first time the two had met in the combat sports arena.
They had also competed in kickboxing before, with Pereira getting the better of The Last Stylebender. But since then, Adesanya had made his mark in UFC and remains one of the best fighters of the current era. This was his sixth successive title defense but fell short against a determined Pereira.
After a back and forth, Pereira turned the fight on its head in the closing moments of the fifth round. He landed several punches and a left hook, leaving Adesanya staggered to win the title.
This win meant Pereira needed only four fights in UFC to become a champion. Moreover, this made him the second-least experienced UFC champion of the modern era behind former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. Lesnar won the UFC Heavyweight title in just his third fight under the promotion.
Alex Pereira becomes the second-least experienced UFC champion of the modern era, only behind Brock Lesnar. Stunning scenes. He needed a Leon Edwards moment and he found it. Unbelievable. #UFC281
— Shaheen Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) November 13, 2022
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Indeed, like Pereira, Brock Lesnar had a quick and fiery rise to stardom in UFC. After losing his first fight, Lesnar made a strong comeback to win his second bout. This led to a UFC Heavyweight title match against Randy Couture, which The Beast won to stun the MMA world. His title win against Couture came in his third fight and made him the least experienced UFC Champion of the modern era. Such is the scale of Lesnar’s achievement that the record has stood ever since, with nobody able to equal or better it.
For now, Alex Pereira can bask in the glory of his historic triumph as a new era dawns on the UFC Middleweight division.
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