UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira [12-11] Results

[K1power]

Main card
Middleweight Israel Adesanya (c) vs. Alex Pereira
Women's Strawweight Carla Esparza (c) vs. Zhang Weili
Lightweight Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler
Bantamweight Frankie Edgar vs. Chris Gutiérrez
Lightweight Dan Hooker vs. Claudio Puelles

Preliminary card (ESPNews / ESPN+)
Lightweight Brad Riddell vs. Renato Moicano
Light Heavyweight Dominick Reyes vs. Ryan Spann
Women's Flyweight Molly McCann vs. Erin Blanchfield
Middleweight Andre Petroski vs. Wellington Turman

Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Lightweight Matt Frevola vs. Ottman Azaitar
Women's Strawweight Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Silvana Gómez Juárez
Featherweight Michael Trizano vs. Choi Seung-woo
Bantamweight Julio Arce vs. Montel Jackson
Light Heavyweight Carlos Ulberg vs. Nicolae Negumereanu

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_281

[K1power]

Definitely rooting for Adesanya for this one.

[Kenshin (Banned)]

Pereira all the way!

[h]

Just cuz.... Lets go Double KO!

[Kenshin (Banned)]

Aug 10, 2022 23:43:15 GMT 1 h said:

Just cuz.... Lets go Double KO!

Okay, I'll settle with this, but only if Dan Miragliotta is the ref. He probably wouldn't know what to do and his head would explode.

[h]

Lol. If Dan is in there I want a Triple KO now.

[K1power]

Happening this Saturday!

[K1power]

Results
Middleweight Alex Pereira def. Israel Adesanya (c) TKO (punches) 5 2:01
Women's Strawweight Zhang Weili def. Carla Esparza (c) Submission (rear-naked choke) 2 1:05
Lightweight Dustin Poirier def. Michael Chandler Submission (rear-naked choke) 3 2:00
Bantamweight Chris Gutiérrez def. Frankie Edgar KO (knee) 1 2:01
Lightweight Dan Hooker def. Claudio Puelles TKO (body kick) 2 4:06
Lightweight Renato Moicano def. Brad Riddell Submission (rear-naked choke) 1 3:20
Catchweight (206.6 lb) Ryan Spann def. Dominick Reyes KO (punches) 1 1:20
Women's Flyweight Erin Blanchfield def. Molly McCann Submission (kimura) 1 3:37
Middleweight Andre Petroski def. Wellington Turman Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) 3 5:00
Lightweight Matt Frevola def. Ottman Azaitar KO (punch) 1 2:30
Women's Strawweight Karolina Kowalkiewicz def. Silvana Gómez Juárez Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Catchweight (147.6 lb) Michael Trizano def. Choi Seung-woo KO (punches) 1 4:51
Bantamweight Montel Jackson def. Julio Arce Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) 3 5:00
Light Heavyweight Carlos Ulberg def. Nicolae Negumereanu KO (punches)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_281

[K1power]

Pretty much the result I think most people expected.

While it's cool to have another fighter that's become champion in major promotions in both kickboxing and MMA, I don't like that it's Pereira. I find his whole public persona just incredibly unlikeable and once again, the person acting like an asshole gets rewarded in life.

I only saw bits and pieces of the fight, but apparently Izzy actually got close to finishing Pereira in the third. At the end it didn't work out though and Izzy was the one getting stopped.

It's unfortunate. Even in a potential rematch I just don't see Izzy winning that fight.

[lero]

Nov 13, 2022 10:12:48 GMT 1 K1power said:

Pretty much the result I think most people expected.

The odds favored Adesanya. Myself I was thinking that Adesanya was going to run backwards in that huge cage for 5 rounds, striking the bare minimum for winning the decision. I didn‘t think he was going to face Alex the way he did.

I guess the rematch is coming, UFC is not risking their new champ to be molested on the ground against a top 5 wrestler from his category (I guess there should be any there right now).

[K1power]

I expected Adesanya wanting to prove himself here and that turned out to be the case. I also expected that to backfire which, unfortunately, was also the case.

I think Pereira just has his number.

[lero]

I am happy for Alex, didn't follow up the trash-talk/antics of this fight (neither really cared) but you should have your good reasons for rooting against him.

[Kenshin (Banned)]

Not a Izzy hater here, but he ain't no saint either. What he did to Costa after he knocked him out was very, very disrespectful.

I'm not a fan of the stoppage though. I wouldn't call it scandalous, as Goddard had a legitimate reason to step in, but all things considered I think it should not have been stopped at this point.

I also expect a rematch. I wouldn't count Izzy out though. He should have been ahead on points until the (T)KO and he looked good for the majority of the fight.

One thing that I'd critize about Izzy in general, is that he's somewhat one dimensional in his striking approach. Anderson Silva, who we can easily compare to Izzy, had more varity in his arsenal, with more high kicks, flashy stuff like the front kick he KOed Belfort with, knees and also a tad more punching combinations. Izzy relies too much on just low kicks and straight punches, often just single shots. His head and foot movement however is fantastic.

[K1power]

I mean, I don't personally know either fighter, but from what I've seen and heard of Izzy his personality just resonates with me. He's also good friend and trainingspartner of our former Kakutougi brother in arms Dado (who also became a fighter BTW). So there's some connective tissue there.

Pereira on the other hand has been annoying on social media for years. And I don't even pay much attention to stuff like that, but it's almost impossible to miss if you're at least somewhat involved in the fight game.

You could argue that Pereira is simply the more exciting fighter and hey if that's how you feel fair enough, but whether or not I like someone (obviously) weighs heavily on who I'm rooting for.

That said, it's impossible not to respect Pereira for building himself from nothing, kicking alcoholism and reaching the highest stage in multiple sports and weightclasses.