Israel Adesanya strongly disagreed with the scoring as Alex Pereira lost his UFC title last night in Las Vegas.
Adesanya and Pereira had one of the most legendary rivalries in UFC history, and have since formed an unlikely friendship. As a result, the former middleweight champion was one of the most interested viewers in last night’s UFC 313 main event.
Unfortunately, it didn’t go the way he wanted as Pereira lost on all three scorecards to Dagestani grappler Magomed Ankalaev. Fans were excited to see Adesanya’s reaction, and he obliged with a video on his YouTube channel.
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Israel Adesaya reacts to Alex Pereira vs Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313
In a 12-minute video on his YouTube channel ‘Freestylebender’, Israel Adesanya showed himself watching his pal Alex Pereira’s latest title defence. He appeared to be scoring the fight in favor of ‘Poatan’ on the basis of his ability to stop takedowns and land big shots.
It seems the biggest bone of contention was the fact that Ankalaev won 49-46 on one scorecard, branding the fight game ‘stupid’ before declaring that he ‘f—ing loves it, eh’. He had scored it 1-1 after two rounds and then took a 2-1 lead in the third, as well as the fifth.
“I had Alex winning but I’m not sure,” Adesanya told the camera. “I’d have to watch it again and score the fight properly. The round two might have played a factor just because he dropped him but then holding against the fence I don’t really remember him getting any takedowns.
Israel Adesanya believes Alex Pereira will get rematch with Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313
Both Pereira and Ankalaev have already called for the rematch, claiming that there really isn’t another contender who is imminently atop the pile. In the last 11 months, the Brazilian has systematically gone about knocking out the rest of the top five, making for a shallow top end of the division.
As a result, Adesanya could also see there being an immediate rematch. That is particularly clear given that Pereira has saved the day at major events such as UFC 300 and UFC 303 with last minute headliner.
“It was a competitive fight back-and-forth,” Adesanya told the camera. “They’re both going to level up and I’m sure he’s going to get a rematch. Spin the block.”
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