Tag: Alex Pereira

Israel Adesanya reacts to Alex Pereira’s UFC debut KO: ‘In the next four fights I hope to see him’

Israel Adesanya appears to be happy Alex Pereira – the only man to knock him out – made a splash in his debut at UFC 268.

[autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] was watching [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]’s octagon debut at UFC 268 – and it went exactly as he predicted.

That’s not an exaggeration, either. Adesanya (21-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) called Pereira (4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) would finish Andreas Michailidis with a knee in their middleweight matchup this past Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

Normally Adesanya’s thoughts on a debuting fighter in his division wouldn’t be particularly newsworthy. Pereira is a unique case, though, because he holds two kickboxing victories over the UFC’s current 185-pound one, with one being the lone knockout loss of Adesanya’s combat sports career.

In a new UFC 268 reaction video on Adesanya’s personal YouTube channel, he shared footage of himself watching the fight live, where Pereira stuffed takedown attempted for the first round before landing a flying knee knockout at the 0:18 mark of Round 2.

“It’s pretty much like me and (Derek) Brunson – he’s trying to find a way (to take him down) cause he’s scared of the striking,” Adesanya said. “Cause you know he’s going to shoot, well-timed knee just straight up. Bang. There it is. I thought he was going to do it when he shot in, but I didn’t think he was going to fly at him.”

Pereira, 34, was repeatedly asked about getting a fight against Adesanya, 32, in the UFC prior to making his debut. He kept humble and said his lone goal is to win the title. If he happens to cross paths with “The Last Stylebender” as a consequence of chasing that dream, he would be happy to face his former foe again.

It remains to be seen how UFC matchmakers opt to handle Pereira going forward. Adesanya agreed with one of his friends in the video that the likes of Brunson and Marvin Vettori would pose stylistic issues to Pereira, who still has just five MMA fights despite a wealth of kickboxing experience that includes a GLORY title.

The champion is seemingly hoping for Pereira to find success, though. Adesanya is coming off a title defense against Vettori at UFC 263 in June, and is expected to rematch Robert Whittaker in February, though it’s not official.

Pereira represents fresh blood, and given his history with Adesanya, he’d create a compelling storyline as a challenger. Adesanya rubbed his fingers in a money-making motion as Pereira conducted his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, and he made it clear it’s something he wants.

“We talked about this like two days ago,” Adesanya said. “We need something new. Especially after you lap the division again. … Good job Pereira, that was nice. One thing I notice is everyone always holds on to that win he has over me like it’s the be-all-end-all. I hope he does well. I hope he does well through the ranks. In the next four fights, I hope to see him. They’ll show you the knockout, but they won’t show you what happened before the finish. I hurt him, but I only throw (hands) because I was infiltrated by other people’s thoughts. But that was when I was younger. Not anymore. It’s different now. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

[vertical-gallery id=1578021]

[vertical-gallery id=557185]

5 biggest takeaways from UFC 268: Will Colby Covington ever become UFC champion?

Thoughts and analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC 268, which took place Saturday in New York City.

What mattered most at UFC 268 at Madison Square Garden in New York City? Here are a few post-fight musings …

UFC 268 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Venum era total passes $5 million

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 268 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $325,500.

NEW YORK – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 268 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $325,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 268 took place at the Madison Square Garden. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

The full UFC 268 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Shane Burgos[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Billy Quarantillo[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Andreas Michailidis[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Al Iaquinta[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Phil Hawes[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ian Garry[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jordan Williams[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Chris Barnett[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Gian Villante[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]John Allan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Melsik Baghdasaryan[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Bruno Souza[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Ode Osbourne[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]CJ Vergara[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2021 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $5,112,500
Program-to-date total: $5,112,500

UFC 268 results: Alex Pereira KO’s Andreas Michailidis with insane flying knee to win debut

Former kickboxing champion Alex Pereira successfully debuts in the UFC with flying-knee KO of Andreas Michailidis at UFC 268.

[autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]’s UFC run is off to a great start.

The former two-division Glory kickboxing champion had a spectacular UFC debut at Saturday’s UFC 268. Pereira (4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) knocked out [autotag]Andreas Michailidis[/autotag] with a flying knee in the second round of their middleweight contest.

The middleweight bout closed out the UFC 268 preliminary card at Madison Square Garden in New York. It aired on ESPNews following additional prelims on ESPN+ and ahead of the main card on pay-per-view.

In the first round, Pereira was put on defensive mode for pretty much the entire round. Michailidis pressured him and looked to take him down. Michailidis briefly got a takedown, but for the most part he controlled Pereira against the cage. In the few breaks that were presented, Pereira was unable to get his striking going.

Things quickly changed in the second round. Just seconds in, Pereira leaped in the air and caught Michailidis (13-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) with a flying knee that sent him straight to the canvas. The Brazilian followed up with a couple of ground-and-pound shots to finish the fight.

[lawrence-related id=1574005,1577931]

Pereira is the only man to have knocked out UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. He holds kickboxing wins over Adesanya having outpointed him in a decision in 2016 and then knocked him out just a year later in 2017. The Brazilian has four consecutive wins. His only loss came in his MMA debut back in 2015.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 268 results include:

[vertical-gallery id=1577711]

Alex Pereira, only man to finish Israel Adesanya, set to make debut at UFC 268

Glory kickboxing champion Alex Pereira will make his UFC debut in November.

Glory kickboxing champion [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] has put pen to paper.

Pereira (3-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who holds two wins over UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in kickboxing, has officially signed to compete in the UFC.

On Wednesday, Pereira posted a video of his contract signing on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CTkQYXvlkKn/?utm_medium=copy_link

 

Although he did not announce his opponent, a source told MMA Junkie his first fight will be at middleweight against [autotag]Andreas Michailidis[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at UFC 268 on Nov. 6.

A person with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. BJ Penn dot com was first to report the news.

The news of Pereira signing with the UFC was initially reported by The Telegraaf.

Pereira will compete in MMA for the fifth time. The 34-year-old Brazilian is 3-1, most recently scoring a devastating first-round knockout of Thomas Powell at LFA 95 in November.

With the addition, the UFC 268 lineup now includes:

  • Champion Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington – for welterweight title
  • Champion Rose Namajunas vs. Zhang Weili – for women’s strawweight title
  • Michael Chandler vs. Justin Gaethje
  • Luke Rockhold vs. Sean Strickland
  • Frankie Edgar vs. Marlon Vera
  • Nassourdine Imavov vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
  • Irene Aldana vs. Germaine de Randamie
  • Al Iaquinta vs. Bobby Green
  • Andreas Michailidis vs. Alex Pereira

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqvpne7c1q486dvv player_id=01f5k5h8pz3brj4xqb image=https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=932524]

[listicle id=934295]

Spinning Back Clique: How will UFC lightweight division shake out with Khabib still champ?

Check out the latest episode of Spinning Back Clique unpacking UFC 255, the lightweight division’s outlook, and more.

Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a quick spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. This week, Simon Head hosts the panel of MMA Junkie Radio’s “Gorgeous” George,” as well as MMA Junkie’s John Morgan and Mike Bohn. Let’s get after it!

SHOW TOPICS

  • UFC flyweight champion [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] needed less than two minutes to submit Alex Perez, and the promotion has wasted no time in booking his next title defense. Figueiredo will take on fellow UFC 255 winner [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] on Dec. 12 at UFC 256, marking a 21-day turnaround for both men. Is this a good idea? And which fighter stands to benefit the most from the short lead time?
  • The other title fight this past Saturday saw UFC women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] defend her title against Jennifer Maia. After her victory, UFC president Dana White mentioned three potential matchups next, with Jessica Andrade, Zhang Weili and, possibly, Amanda Nunes all mentioned. Which bout makes the most sense, and where does the in-form Lauren Murphy fit into all of this?
  • UFC 255 also saw the return to action of “Platinum” [autotag]Mike Perry[/autotag], who lost out on the scorecards to Tim Means after an entertaining back-and-forth battle. Perry is now 7-7 in the UFC and missed weight by 4.5 pounds last week. Given all that’s gone on with Perry, how do you assess his status in the UFC right now, and what should come next at this stage in his career?
  • Business is picking up once again in the UFC lightweight division, with [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] and [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] officially set to rematch Jan. 23 at UFC 257, while [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] returns to fight [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] on Dec. 12 at UFC 256. It means some of the big guns of the division will be facing off, but what’s going on with the title? [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] says he’s retired, but White is hanging on to the possibility that the champ might come back for one more fight. How will this all shake out in the coming months?
  • And finally, we had a ton of non-UFC action on the slate last week, with outstanding performances delivered by the likes of [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] (Bellator 253), [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] (LFA 95) and PFL champ [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] (Invicta FC 43). To wrap things up, who among those three impressed the most?

For answers to all of those questions, watch Episode 54 of “Spinning Back Clique” above.

[vertical-gallery id=437333]

Video: Glory champ Alex Pereira delivers terrifying knockout at LFA 95

Alex Pereira knocked Israel Adesanya out on kickboxing and now he’s delivering big finishes in MMA as well.

[autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] is already known in the MMA business as the man who knocked out current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in kickboxing.

And now Pereira (3-1) is crossing his knockout power over to another combat sport. The current Glory middleweight and interim light heavyweight champion delivered one of the most terrifying knockouts you’ll ever see in the cage Friday night in the main event of LFA 95 in Park City, Kansas.

Pereira used a pinpoint left hook to knock overmatched opponent Thomas Powell cold at the 4:04 mark of the opening round.

The Brazilian’s perfectly delivered left hook landed flush on the ear. Powell immediately face planted forward, with his head taking the brunt of the impact on the mat.

Powell was unconscious for several minutes, leaving the commentary team in hushed tones. Fortunately Powell eventually woke up, and ultimately left the cage under his own power.

This was the first MMA bout since 2016 for Pereira, who trains MMA with Glover Teixeira in Danbury, Conn. He’s twice defeated Adesanya, earning a decision in 2016 and a KO in 2017.

“I’m very happy to be in MMA,” Pereira said through an interpreter. “I’ve been training with Glover Teixeira for 3-4 months and I’m happy with the results.”

You can see the knockout below:

Combat Rewind, May 17: The guy who knocked out Israel Adesanya is back

Check out the best highlights from this day in history with MMA Junkie’s “Combat Rewind.”

There’s “Flashback Friday” and “Throwback Thursday” (and Tuesday, too, if you want). But at MMA Junkie, we figured why not expand that to every day?

“Combat Rewind” brings you some of combat sports’ best highlights from every calendar day of the year. It’s a look back at history, courtesy of the UFC Fight Pass archives, featuring stellar finishes and classic moments in MMA and beyond on their anniversaries.

So kick back and relive the following bits of greatness in the video above:

Fight footage courtesy of UFC Fight Pass, the UFC’s official digital subscription service, which is currently offering a seven-day free trial. UFC Fight Pass gives fans access to exclusive live UFC events and fights, exclusive live MMA and combat sports events from around the world, exclusive original and behind the scenes content and unprecedented 24-7 access to the world’s biggest fight library.

MMA Junkie Radio #3012: Reaction to Bellator Hawaii doubleheader, UFC on ESPN+ 23

Hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” unpack a trifecta of major MMA events and react to the latest news and notes.

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here!

On Episode No. 3,012 of the podcast, the guys unpack a trifecta of major events from the weekend, with Bellator 235 and 236 in Honolulu, as well as UFC on ESPN+ 23 in Busan, South Korea. The guys also react to the latest news and notes.

THE RUNDOWN:

  • The weekend got off to a bad start for Bellator, with former UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Josh Barnett[/autotag] forced to withdraw hours before the Bellator 235 headliner because of illness. When and where should Barnett vs. Ronny Markes take place now?
  • At UFC on ESPN+ 23, [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] took care of business in a big way with a first-round TKO finish of ex-lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. Did “The Korean Zombie” do enough to shake up plans of title rematch between Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway? Are you warm to the idea of a No. 1 contender fight against [autotag]Zabit Magomedsharipov[/autotag]?
  • At Bellator 236, [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] retained her flyweight title with a dominant performance against Kate Jackson, and [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] advanced to the semifinals of the featherweight grand prix with a submission of Derek Campos. The guys weigh in on both outcomes and more from the card.
  • [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag] gave an endorsement speech of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders at a rally in Las Vegas. Pretty cool?
  • [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag], the Glory Kickboxing middleweight champion better known as the guy who knocked out Israel Adesanya, wants to fight MMA. Are you into it?
  • [autotag]Dillon Danis[/autotag] has his next fight lined up for Jan. 25 at Bellator 238. Is this guy a star for the promotion?
  • It sure does seem like [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] would rather fight [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] instead of receive a welterweight title shot vs. Kamaru Usman. Does this make sense?
  • Former Bellator champion [autotag]Rory MacDonald[/autotag] left the promotion to sign with PFL. Good or bad move for him?

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at AudioBoom, or check it out above. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.

[jwplayer KRWGrkn5-RbnemIYZ]