Israel Adesanya defeats Alex Pereira at UFC 287 to reclaim middleweight title belt after second round knockout in Miami

Israel Adesanya reclaimed his middleweight title after beating long-term rival Alex Pereira at UFC 287.

The 33-year-old managed a second-round knockout to seal the win over Pereira to take back the title that he lost last year in November.

It was the fourth meeting between the two middleweights and their second inside the octagon. It was the first time in which Adesanya claimed a victory.

In the opening stages of the fight, Pereira took an offensive approach, landing several shots that had Adesanya with his back to the cage.

But a quick recovery saw him evade a shot before dazing the Brazilian with a right-hand punch.

Soon enough, Pereira was the subject of several hits confirming the victory for Pereira. After the knock-out, the winner produced the motion of a bow towards his opponent.

“I told you, the hunter is now the hunted. I thought I told him this before but thank you. Thank you for beating me,” said Adesanya straight after his win.

“By beating me, he made me a better fighter. A better person. In this camp, I didn’t f*** around. If you know me, you know I like a vacation but I didn’t f*** around. I stayed on the grind.

“I hope every one of you can feel this level of happiness for one time in your life,” he continued.

“But guess what? You’ll never feel this level of happiness if you don’t go for something in your life. When they knock you down, if you stay down you will never get that resolve.

“Fortify your mind and feel this level of happiness. I’m blessed to feel this again and again and again.”

In the card’s co-main event, Jorge Masvidal alluded to his retirement after his loss to Gilbert Burns.

Masvidal had started well in the fight, but, in the second round, Burns secured a takedown and showed that he was in control for the majority of the round.

The third round was more of the same, as Masvidal received some heavy blows to close out the fight.

“I love all of you. Thank you everybody for watching. This is where I started my career,” Masvidal said after he lost.

“Sometimes your favourite basketball player ain’t got that three-pointer no more, your favourite quarterback loses that rifle. It’s been 20-something years. I’m a multi-millionaire. I had nothing when I started. I’m out.”

The rest of the main card saw Rob Font claim a knockout over rival Adrian Yanez in the first round while Kevin Holland managed to get a knock out victory in the final round against Santiago Ponzinibbio, after landing a huge right-hand on his opponent.

Raul Rosas Jr., the youngest fighter in UFC history at 18 years old, was handed his first defeat in the promotion – by Christian Rodriguez – to kick-start the main card.