Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has spoken highly of Israel Adesanya’s knockout victory over Alex Pereira, calling it “even more impressive” in light of Pereira’s recent success in the octagon. Usman shared his thoughts during a recent episode of his podcast, Pound 4 Pound, reflecting on the significance of Adesanya’s win.
Pereira, who defended his light-heavyweight title with a dominant TKO win over Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307 last weekend, has been on a remarkable run this year. His victory against Rountree marked his third world title finish in 2023, highlighting his dominance in the UFC. Despite this, Pereira’s only loss in the UFC remains his second-round knockout at the hands of Adesanya, which took place last year at UFC 287.
Usman acknowledged Pereira’s impressive run but emphasized how Adesanya’s knockout win stands out even more now, given Pereira’s current form.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Alex Pereira and what he’s done, but this makes Israel Adesanya’s finish of Alex Pereira even more impressive,” Usman said on his podcast. “To be able to stop a titan like that, it makes it even more impressive.”
The rivalry between Adesanya and Pereira has been one of the most talked-about in combat sports, spanning over seven years across two different fighting disciplines—kickboxing and mixed martial arts. Their history began in 2016 and 2017 when Pereira defeated Adesanya twice in Glory kickboxing matches. The two then brought their rivalry to the UFC, where Pereira knocked out Adesanya in 2022 to claim the middleweight title.
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However, Adesanya got his revenge in their next encounter at UFC 287, delivering a stunning knockout in the second round to reclaim his middleweight belt. This victory marked a key moment in their rivalry and solidified Adesanya’s place as one of the top fighters in the UFC.
Although Pereira has since moved up to the light-heavyweight division, where he captured UFC gold, the possibility of a future rematch between him and Adesanya continues to excite fans. Adesanya recently reacted to Pereira’s dominant performance at UFC 307, showing admiration for his former rival.
“He (Pereira) is that guy right now,” Adesanya said while watching Pereira’s latest fight live. He also gave credit to Khalil Rountree for his resilience in the fight, saying, “Shout out to Khalil because, heart. Fighting with a broken nose, f**ked eye, and intelligence not to blow his nose even in the fight, respect.”