Man, that whole Adesanya vs Pereira thing was a ride, wasn’t it? I remember getting really pulled into it, mostly ’cause Pereira seemed to have Adesanya’s number for the longest time, going way back to kickboxing.
I followed kickboxing a bit, casually you know, so I knew Pereira beat him twice there. Then when Pereira followed him to the UFC, it felt like something out of a movie. Like, this guy is literally chasing him across sports just to beat him again. And then he actually did it! Took the UFC belt off him. Wild.
Leading Up to the Last One
After that third loss, the first in MMA, I honestly didn’t know what to think. Lots of talk online, people saying Izzy was mentally broken by this guy, that Pereira just lived rent-free in his head. My buddies and I argued about it constantly. I was leaning towards Adesanya still having the technical skill, but man, Pereira’s power is just terrifying. You always felt like he was one punch away, no matter what was happening.
So, when they booked the immediate rematch, UFC 287, the tension was crazy high. I made sure my Saturday night was clear. No way I was missing this one live. Got some snacks, had a couple of friends over. We weren’t even talking much before the main event started, just waiting.
Watching It Go Down
The fight started, and honestly? It felt kinda familiar. Pereira pressing, Adesanya using movement, landing some good shots but always wary of that left hook. Pereira hurt him again! Had him against the cage. I remember thinking, “Oh no, not again. He’s gonna get finished.” The room went quiet. My buddy literally had his hands on his head.
And then, BAM! Out of nowhere, while looking hurt, Adesanya uncorks those two right hands. Pereira just folded. Dropped like a sack of bricks. We all jumped up, shouting. Total chaos in my living room for a minute. Couldn’t believe what we just saw. He actually did it. He overcame his boogeyman, on the biggest stage, right when it looked like it was about to go wrong again.
Seeing him shoot the arrows celebration right over Pereira… intense stuff. It wasn’t just about winning the belt back; you could feel years of history and frustration boiling over in that moment. It was one of those fight moments you don’t forget. Just raw emotion and a crazy storyline finally reaching its climax. Took me a while to actually calm down afterwards, just kept replaying that knockout sequence in my head.
