I didn t train very well , Pereira reveals he fought Adesanya with hand injury

Get the Full StoryAlex Pereira cracks Israel Adesanya with a vicious left hook during their middleweight title fight at UFC 281. Photo by Jeff Bottari Zuffa LLC

Alex Pereira defeated Israel Adesanya with a pre-existing hand injury. Alex Pereira fought Israel Adesanya injured at UFC 281, revealing to ESPN that he entered the contest with a torn ligament in his right hand and didn t train very well in the lead-up to the fight.

Pereira might not have been feeling his best, but he still went on to defeat Adesanya via TKO, finishing the now-defeated champ with a barrage of punches in the fifth round to claim the UFC middleweight title.

I didn t train very well for this fight. I could have been better, Pereira, who is the only man to defeat Adesanya in kickboxing and MMA, said. But I won, I became champion. A lot of people talk nonsense and don t know what was going on. I tore the ligaments. I think I can come back better for this next fight.

Pereira is happy to fight Adesanya again next year but urged the former champ to wait a bit before he steps into the Octagon with him again, warning of a similar outcome in a potential rematch.

It doesn t matter to me whether he or another will come, Pereira continued. If I were him, I would wait a bit, but since he wants to he was the champion. If he really wants that, he deserves this rematch. It was a good fight. He hit me, he believes he can beat me. It doesn t matter to me, I ll fight. If there are two people, Adesanya and someone else, and you say who I want, I ll say Adesanya. Because he is him.

Pereira s middleweight title win over Adesanya saw the Brazilian surge to #8 in the UFC men s pound-for-pound rankings and solidify himself as one of the most vicious knockout artists in the promotion. He won the title after just four fights in the UFC.

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