ISRAEL ADESANYA’s reign as UFC middleweight champion came to a brutal end at the hands of Alex Pereira.
The Last Stylebender renewed his rivalry with the Glory double champ early on Sunday morning in the main event of UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Adesanya, 33, went into the penultimate pay-per-view main event of the year looking to avenge the brutal knockout loss he suffered to Pereira in his final kickboxing bout five years ago.
But the same fate befell him in the fifth round front of a sold-out crowd at The World’s Most Famous Arena.
Adesanya relished the prospect of settling the score with the previously-undefeated Pereira, telling SunSport earlier this year: “It definitely gets me up. I like new blood, fresh blood.