Adesanya vs Pereira

Who won Adesanya vs Pereira?

Alex Pereira beat Israel Adesanya by knockout in the 5th round during the main event of UFC 281, on Saturday 12th November 2022 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Middleweight division, which meant the weight limit was 185 pounds (13.2 stone or 83.9 KG).

This contest was for the UFC Middleweight championship.

Adesanya vs Pereira stats

Israel Adesanya stepped into the octagon with a record of 23 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, 15 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Alex Pereira made his way to the cage with a record of 6 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, 5 of those wins coming by knock out.

This was Israel Adesanya's 18th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2018. Alex Pereira marked his 11th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2021.

Israel Adesanya's UFC record stood at 13-5-0, while Alex Pereira's came in at 9-2-0.

The stats suggested Pereira had an advantage in power over Adesanya, with a 83% knock out percentage over Adesanya's 65%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested that Adesanya and Pereira would have been pretty equal, both with a 0% submission rate.

Israel Adesanya was the younger man by 2 years, at 35 years old.

Adesanya was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 17 more fights, and made his debut in 2012, 3 years and 7 months earlier than Pereira, whose first professional fight was in 2015. He had fought 45 more professional rounds, 82 to Pereira's 37.

Adesanya vs Pereira form

Adesanya had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305 on 17th August 2024 by submission in the 4th round in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at RAC Arena, Perth, Western Australia.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Sean Strickland at UFC 293 on 9th September 2023 by unanimous decision in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia.

Going into that contest, he had won against Alex Pereira at UFC 287 on 8th April 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Miami-Dade Arena, Miami, United States.

Before that, he had been defeated by Alex Pereira at UFC 281 on 12th November 2022 by knockout in the 5th round in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

He had beaten Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 on 2nd July 2022 by unanimous decision in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Pereira had won all 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 4opponents and going the distance once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had defeated Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 on 5th October 2024 by knockout in the 4th round in their UFC Light Heavyweight championship fight at Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, United States.

Previous to that, he was victorious against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 on 29th June 2024 by knockout in the 2nd round in their UFC Light Heavyweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had won against Jamahal Hill at UFC 300 on 13th April 2024 by knockout in the 1st round in their UFC Light Heavyweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had beaten Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 on 11th November 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round in their UFC Light Heavyweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

He had defeated Jan Blachowicz at UFC 291 on 29th July 2023 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Alex Pereira had been fighting more than Israel Adesanya.

Going to this contest, Israel Adesanya had last fought 8 months and 18 days ago, while Alex Pereira's last outing had been 7 months ago.

Adesanya's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 10 months and 3 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 26 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 21 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4.2 rounds on average.

Pereira's last 5 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 9 months and 6 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 4 months and 9 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.4 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Adesanya vs Pereira?

Israel Adesanya was a 16/25 (-160) favourite going into the contest, while Alex Pereira made his way into the ring at 5/4 (+130) with oddsmakers.