UFC 268: Alex Pereira knocks out Andreas Michailidis to put middleweight division – and Israel Adesanya – on notice
- Former Glory kickboxing champ lands finishes ‘The Spartan’ with spectacular flying knee 18 seconds into second round
- ‘It’s a different kind of power. You can’t stand in front of that man,’ UFC commentator Joe Rogan says in New York
There’s a new, old kid on the block in UFC, and the entire middleweight division has been put on notice – including champion Israel Adesanya.
Alex Pereira (4-1) announced his arrival to the Octagon in style on Saturday night, doing what he always does and shutting down Andreas Michailidis (13-5) with a spectacular, trademark TKO just 18 seconds into the second round at Madison Square Garden.
One of the most elite strikers in combat sports, Pereira is the only former two-weight simultaneous Glory kickboxing champion, notably owning a huge knockout win over Israel Adesanya, who would go on to become UFC middleweight champion.
The 34-year-old Brazilian insisted in fight week he is not necessarily hunting “The Last Stylebender”, more so the title, but the matchmakers could find it increasingly hard to keep the two apart much longer for that dream rematch if “Poatan” reels off more knockouts like this.
“It’s a different kind of power. You can’t stand in front of that man,” UFC commentator Joe Rogan said on the ESPN broadcast, after a sizzling end to the featured prelim bout.
“You touch him he feels like wood. He hits so hard. He does that to everybody. He hits them with short shots and they go flying. This is what this man has been doing his entire kickboxing career.”