UFC 295: ‘Come to daddy’ - Alex Pereira taunts Israel Adesanya after controversial KO
Alex Pereira created history and immediately called out a long-time foe.
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Alex Pereira called out long-time rival Israel Adesanya after claiming a controversial second round TKO win over Jiri Prochazka to become the light heavyweight champion at UFC 295.
The Madison Square Garden blockbuster ended in confusing circumstances when many felt referee Mark Goddard stepped in too early after Pereira dropped former champion Prochazka with a minute remaining in the second round.
“I’m not satisfied with that stoppage,” said veteran commentator Joe Rogan. “He was hurt, but I feel like he (Goddard) pulled the trigger a little early. It is what it is.”
In just his second fight at light heavyweight, the former middleweight titleholder said the stoppage was fair.
Prochazka was dropped by a left hook, and took several follow up shots while attempting to take Pereira down. Goddard stopped the bout when Prochazka fell backwards onto the canvas.
“After the first left hook, he took another one then fell down on my legs, so I don’t think it was a bad stoppage,” Pereira, who became the ninth fighter in UFC history to win titles in two different weight classes.
Despite the controversy, Prochazka didn’t make any excuses.
“I think that end, it was right, I was out, but I will never stop,” he said. “Shit happens. For me, it’s a bit to learn, let’s work on that and be back stronger than ever.”
With the belt around his waist, Pereira used his post-fight interview to call out Adesanya.
‘Poatan’ has three wins and a loss to the Kiwi across their four fights in kickboxing’s Glory promotion and the UFC. Pereira knocked out Adesnya one year ago to win the middleweight title, before Stylebender got his revenge in April at UFC 287.
Alex Pereira becomes the ninth fighter to win UFC titles in two divisions 🔥 #UFC295pic.twitter.com/1eN7ZGOpVP
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) November 12, 2023
Pereira said he was inspired to join the UFC after watching Adesanya criticise him in an interview in 2018.
“I’m not the type of guy that calls people out, but there’s a guy that back in the day did an interview saying that I was a guy who was just going to stay in the bar,” Pereira said. “That motivated me.
“He rescued me from the bar to be here today.”
Adesanya has said he intends on taking a break from the sport after his shock middleweight title defeat to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in Sydney in September, and Pereira says he’ll be awaiting his return.
“This is a waste of talent, so I want to rescue him too to come here and fight,” he said through an interpreter. “I’m not going to make him fight three times to fight me, I want to make this fight happen.”
Pereira then added in English: “Hey, Adesanya, come to daddy.”
In the co-main event, Tom Aspinall produced a stunning first round knock out of Sergei Pavlovich to claim the interim heavyweight title.
Aspinall received the call-up just two-and-a-half weeks ago after heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones pulled out of his scheduled main event with Stipe Miocic.
Aspinall admitted to being scared by knockout artist Pavlovich, who was riding a six-fight streak of first round knockout wins.
But, despite getting rattled in the early stand-up exchanges, Aspinall landed two solid right hands to the side of the Russian’s head, forcing the bout to be stopped after just 69 seconds.
“It’s been a crazy two-and-a-half weeks,” Aspinall said. “If you ever get the chance to do something, you should absolutely do it, because there’s a chance you’ll actually do it.
“He’s a big scary guy. I’ve never been that scared in my life.
“But I’ve got a lot of power too.”
In emotional post-fight scenes, the Manchester-born Aspinall removed his belt and handed it to his dad and trainer, Andy, who quit his high-paying IT job to become Tom’s full time MMA coach in the early stages of his career.
With Jones set for at least another six months on the sidelines with a torn pectoral muscle, it’s likely Aspinall will be elevated to full heavyweight champion at some point next year.
UFC 295 as it happened
Alex Pereira is the new light heavyweight champion after a controversial second round stoppage win over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden.
Prochazka had arguably won the first round, and was on top in the second when Pereira dropped him.
While on the canvas, Prochazka grabbed Pereira while falling backwards, before referee Mark Goddard called the bout off.
Boos rained down from the rafters after the crowd saw the replay, with most believing it was stopped too early.
“I’m not satisfied with that stoppage,” said veteran UFC commentator Joe Rogan. “He was hurt, but I feel like he pulled the trigger a little early. It is what it is.”
Fellow commentator Jon Anik said he would have preferred if Prochazka was given more time to prove he was still able to fight.
Alex Pereira becomes the ninth fighter to win UFC titles in two divisions 🔥 #UFC295pic.twitter.com/1eN7ZGOpVP
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) November 12, 2023
Pereira becomes the ninth fighter to win belts in two different weight classes in the UFC nearly 12 months to the day since he defeated Israel Adesanya for the middleweight belt at the same venue.
Pereira called Adesanya out for a 205-pound title fight, while Prochazka didn’t make any excuses.
“I think that end, it was right, I was out, but I will never stop,” he said. “Shit happens. For me, it’s a bit to learn, let’s work on that and be back stronger than ever.
“Now, thank you, Alex. Thank you for this fight, I’ll be back.”
Live updates -
Round Two - High level stand-up early on. Prochazka is trying to use is awkward, crazy style, but his left leg is hurting. FIREFIGHT against the cage, and Prochazka has Pereira hurt. Pereira escapes trouble though and gets out of danger. PEREIRA DROPS PROCHAZKA.
PEREIRA WINS! ALEX PEREIRA IS THE NEW LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION!!!
Round One - Again, how the hell did Pereira ever make 185? Prochazka lands the first big shot - a right uppercut from distance - before Pereira goes in with some heavy low leg kicks. Prochazka’s left leg is hurt. BADLY!
Prochazka looks for a few takedowns. Can’t land any of them though and Pereira attempts a standing guillotine. Prochazka finally gets the takedown! This fight is already great.
Tom Aspinall stuns Sergei Pavlovich
Tom Aspinall becomes the interim heavyweight champion with a STUNNING first round knockout of Sergei Pavlovich.
Aspinall actually appeared to be rattled in the early stand-up exchanges before launching a savage comeback.
The knockout began with a straight right hand to the top of Pavlovich’s head. A follow up right hand put the giant Russian out after just 69 seconds.
Tom Aspinall! 🇬🇧 #AndNEWpic.twitter.com/GtDUkjv1Ff
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) November 12, 2023
While Pavlovich was the stand-by fighter for the originally scheduled main event of Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, Aspinall only received the call two-and-a-half weeks ago.
“It’s been a crazy two-and-a-half weeks,” Aspinall said. “If you ever get the chance to do something, you should absolutely do it, because there’s a chance you’ll actually do it.
“He’s a big scary guy. I’ve never been that scared in my life.
“But I’ve got a lot of power too.”
Aspinall took his belt off mid-interview to give it to his father who was in his corner.
Andrade annihilates Dern
Jessica Andrade snapped a three-fight losing streak in impressive fashion, dropping Mackenzie Dern four times on the way to a second round TKO victory.
Dern was completely outclassed in the stand-up, with a powerful Andrade making her look like a rank amateur.
The bout was stopped after the former strawweight champion dropped a befuddled Dern for a third time in quick succession.
It leaves Andrade with the second most stoppage finishes in women’s UFC with nine, just one behind the GOAT Amanda Nunes.
Knockout of the Year contender!
Benoit Saint Denis just scored one of the best headkick KOs you’ll ever see in your life.
In one of the most mouth-watering fights on the card, Saint Denis took on Matt Frevola in a lightweight fight with future title fight implications.
Saint Denis, who has only been training MMA for six years, made light work of it, catching Frevola with a perfect left high kick.
The KO extends Saint Denis finishing streak to five, while is five-fight win streak equals the division’s champion Islam Makhachev.
Benoit Saint-Denis!!!! 🔥 #UFC295pic.twitter.com/6mSeDUZvJY
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) November 12, 2023
Saint Denis used his post-fight interview to call out the entire lightweight division, including Makhachev, while also saying he wants to fight for the BMF belt against the likes of Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.
MASSIVE knockout rocks PPV opener
Diego Lopes is a very bad man.
He just annihilated Pat Sabatini, forcing referee Keith Peterson to stop it just 90 seconds into the first round.
Check out the excitement machine’s win here.
Diego Lopes is a savage! pic.twitter.com/GqBjIyYj9q
— Haduucken (@Haduucken) November 12, 2023
Steve Erceg claims decision win as Trump appears at MSG
Rising Australian flyweight star Steve Erceg continued his impressive run in the UFC with a unanimous decision win over Alessandro Costa at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Headlining the night’s preliminary cards, Erceg proved too slick for the nuggety Costa, before earning his second straight victory with three cards of 29-28 after debuting in June.
It wasn’t the dominant performance he was after as he aims to win a 125-pound title within seven fights, but the result is another step in the right direction.
Just moments after Erceg was declared the winner, former US president Donald Trump entered the arena alongside UFC boss Dana White, rocker Kid Rock and political pundit Tucker Carlson.
The high-powered appearance meant Erceg wasn’t able to conduct a post-fight interview with Joe Rogan in the cage.
Trump was also in attendance in Las Vegas in July as fellow Aussie Alex Volkanovski defended his featherweight title against Yair Rodriguez.
Steve Erceg (@ErcegSteve) picks up the win to close out the prelims and exits the cage just as Donald Trump makes his entrance into the arena. #UFC295pic.twitter.com/UETPiudN2i
— John Morgan (@JohnMorgan_MMA) November 12, 2023
Erceg said all week that he considered Costa a tougher opponent than Matt Schnell - who pulled out on late notice - and the Mexican replacement let his hands go several times in the opening round.
Erceg was smooth enough to stay out of trouble though, and picked his shots well from outside.
A long straight right hand dropped Costa with a minute left in the opening round, before Erceg shifted to mount and nearly locked in a rear-naked choke.
Costa did a good job of escaping, and they finished the frame on their feet, but Erceg had made his mark.
Costa continued throwing with full power into the second, and had Erceg backing up at times in the opening minute.
Costa landed a takedown on his second attempt at it, but Erceg escaped after the Mexican tried to mount.
After looking for a few submissions, Costa rattled Erceg with a big hook out of a clinch, but resorted again to looking for a submission finish, which the West Australian defended well.
Erceg started the third round aggressively, pushing Costa against the cage, tiring him out and landing punches where he could.
The final half of the third round summed up the fight more generally, with Erceg’s clinical approach too much for Costa’s raw power.
Meltdown over judging
New york rarely fails to throw up at least one shocking scorecard.
Loopy Godinez put on a reasonably one-sided performance in what should have been a straight-forward win over Tabatha Ricci on the prelims.
But, when there was a long delay before the scorecards were read out, you just knew something weird was happening.
One judge somehow awarded Ricci all three rounds, which boggles the mind.
Thankfully, the other two judges saw the fight as everyone else on the planet did, and Godinez walked away with a win.
Joe Rogan's face when Bruce Buffer read that first 30-27 for Ricci #UFC295pic.twitter.com/1xMQJt42qR
— EK (@EdwardsKim) November 12, 2023
30-27 Ricci? pic.twitter.com/AHw4uXHAqi
— Luke ThomasðŸ‹ï¸â€â™€ï¸ (@lthomasnews) November 12, 2023
Jared Gordon’s epic post-fight speech
Jared Gordon put on a special performance in beating former Olympian Mark Madsen by first round TKO.
A New York native, Gordon landed a series of big punches in the clinch before referee Mark Goddard put a halt to the action.
Gordon has had numerous ups and downs in fighting and life, including drug addiction, and he gave an emotional post-fight speech following the win.
“I grew up in this city, New York, you made me,” he said. “My grandfather fought in this stadium four times.
“I used shoot heroin in Penn Station underneath this building. Now I’m fighting in it and knocking guys out.
“You can do anything if you put your mind to it and faith a little faith in God.”
Gordon’s return to fighting came after three drug overdose incidents, including one in 2015 when he was declared legally dead for two minutes.
His drug problem also created troubles with the law, and he faced “25 years to life at one point” before turning things around.
The 35-year-old’s win snaps a run of bad luck, including a controversial decision defeat to Paddy Pimblett and a no-contest against Bobby Green after an accidental head clash left him unconscious.
Gordon finished his post-fight interview by calling for a fight with a top 15 opponent next up.
Stephen Erceg gets high-powered political backing
Stephen Erceg is the only Aussie fighting at UFC 295 today, and he’s received some high-powered support from the West Australian premier Roger Cook.
A proud Perth product, Erceg fights Alessandro Costa in his second fight in the UFC.
Proving how highly the company rates him, the 14th ranked flyweight will headline the prelim card. That’s rare for a flyweight, and even rarer for a guy in just his second UFC bout.
Cook, who replaced Mark McGowan as WA premier in June, threw his support behind Erceg in a video released on social media over the weekend.
“On behalf of Western Australia, we want to wish Steve Erceg all the very best for UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden in New York,” he said. “Steve was signed up just before UFC 284 in Perth and he’s already amoungst the top 15.
“So, Steve, all the very best for this weekend. Go well.”
Erceg earned his spot in the UFC after an impressive performance on an Eternal MMA card in Perth a day before Alex Volkanovski’s first fight with Islam Makhachev in February.
Israel Adesanya’s shock call on rival Alex Pereira
Israel Adesanya has fought Alex Pereira four times in the UFC and Glory, but has beaten the Brazilian just once.
Stylebender’s solitary win over Poatan came via second round knockout in their middleweight title fight rematch earlier this year.
Despite their history - which has turned ugly at times in the past - Adesanya has nothing but respect for Pereira inside and outside the Octagon.
“Pereira is a special human being - not just a fighter, but a special human being,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel this weekend. “I’ll say that because I’ve been in there many times.
“He’s got a special ability when it comes to putting people to sleep. He can do it to anyone. Anyone.
“His story is very impressive with what he’s done in kickboxing and the UFC. He hunted me down, he was hunted and now he’s going up to a second division to claim another belt.
“When they do a movie on his life, it’s going to be something amazing.”
Their rivalry dates back years, but Pereira was inspired to join the UFC after reading comments Adesanya made to this reporter in 2018.
Speaking about the stunning kickboxing knockout Pereira dished out to him, Adesanya said: “At the end of the day, no one knows who the f--k he is, and he’s going to be that guy when I’m world champion and when I’m a legend, he’s going to be at some pub talking shit about ‘I beat that guy one time.’”
The comments went viral, spurring Pereira’s rise up the middleweight rankings and eventually leading to his 2022 title fight victory over Adesanya.
Poatan has the chance to get one over Adesanya by achieving what the Kiwi failed to do and winning a title at light heavyweight.
UFC 296 results
Main card (2pm AEDT)
Light Heavyweight: Alex Pereira def Jiri Prochazka via Rd 2 TKO
Heavyweight: Tom Aspinall def Sergei Pavlovich via Rd 1 KO
Women’s Strawweight: Mackenzie Dern vs. Jéssica Andrade
Lightweight: Benoît Saint-Denis def Matt Frevola via Rd 1 KO
Featherweight: Diego Lopes def Pat Sabatini via Rd 1 KO
Preliminary card (12pm AEDT on ESPN)
Flyweight: Steve Erceg def Alessandro Costa via UD
Women’s Strawweight: Loopy Godinez def Tabatha Ricci via SD
Lightweight: Mateusz Rębecki def Roosevelt Roberts via Rd 1 sub (armbar)
Lightweight: Nazim Sadykhov majority draw Viacheslav Borshchev
Early preliminary card (10am ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Lightweight: Jared Gordon def Mark Madsen via Rd 1 TKO
Bantamweight: John Castañeda def Kang Kyung-ho via UD
Flyweight: Joshua Van def Kevin Borjas via UD
Featherweight: Jammall Emmers def Dennis Buzukjavia Rd 1 KO
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