Adesanya changes his story at UFC 287

As an archer, Israel Adesanya drew his arrow and finished off Alex Pereira. Thus, the Nigerian wanted to celebrate his victory in the UFC 287 All-Star Game. He could not have chosen a better ending for this fight. Everything was as it is. It's amazing, amazing. Izzy regained the UFC middleweight title in the second round and had one of the most impressive fights of the year.

"I don't even know what I hit him with," Adesanya snapped after the fight. The right hand, possessing the "power of the gods", brought the long-awaited redemption to the African. They fought three times, and in the last two, the Brazilian knocked out (the first won on points). For Izzy, it was all or nothing.

From the very beginning, Alex Pereira surprised by missing the opening round. It wasn't easy, but Adesanya won. The African put in more effort. Pereira focused on kicks to knock the opponent down, and with his fists he was more accurate than the challenger. The second round began at a different pace. The middleweight champion came out brave and it was a very dangerous cross. He is much bigger and every hand feels like a knockout. Adesanya managed to endure it.

He was going to stop Alex, and one such action could change everything. The footwork worked for the Brazilian. The Nigerian twitched on one leg and stepped back towards the cage. He grimaced and took a flurry of blows. Pereira knew that if he reached out he could knock him out, but a straight right hand left him practically knocked out. Two more strikes from the Nigerian ended up taking the champion down and changing history. Finally, Adesanya was able to get out of the vicious circle of defeats from Pereira.

"Thank you Alex for beating me. Now you've made me a better fighter," Adesanya said at the end. The 33-year-old Nigerian is one of those fighters who are the best at selling fights. All week he appeared in the same collar as the main character of the film, Danny Dog.

He wanted to be a "predatory dog", and with his ending, his act made sense.

"I hope that each of you can experience this level of happiness at least once in your life," Adesanya said.

Adesanya first faced Pereira in a kickboxing ring in 2016 and lost in a controversial unanimous decision. They then met a year later, with Pereira knocking out Adesanya in the third and final round. They met under MMA rules at UFC 281 last November in New York City, where Adesanya was again in control for most of the fight before suffering a brutal fifth-round knockout and losing his belt as a result.

In the main event of Saturday night's UFC 287 card in Miami, Florida, Adesanya, after taking down the imposing Brazilian with a stunning second-round combo, finally breaks Alex Pereira's curse and returns to the top of the UFC.