Watch Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira full fight video highlights from the main card of UFC 281, courtesy of the UFC and other outlets.
UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira took place Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (23-2) took on Alex Pereira (7-1) in the main event on the night’s main card. ESPN+ paid-per-view aired the fight live.
Catch the video highlights below.
Volk liked what he saw from Izzy after round 3 #UFC281 pic.twitter.com/kMLUnjcjk0
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 13, 2022
It was THAT close for the challenger #UFC281 pic.twitter.com/waZNDNRnzi
— UFC (@ufc) November 13, 2022
PEREIRA GOT ROCKED #UFC281 pic.twitter.com/AuI6WGcpHI
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 13, 2022
THEY MEET AGAIN. NO GLOVE TOUCH #UFC281 pic.twitter.com/h2MV9WSwBl
— UFC (@ufc) November 13, 2022
Adesanya is locked in #UFC281 pic.twitter.com/4H8Yhj0pvI
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 13, 2022
Poatan on the hunt for gold! @AlexPereiraUFC ready to square off with a familiar face, this time in the Octagon #UFC281 pic.twitter.com/iChASw1BKF
— UFC (@ufc) November 13, 2022
For more on Adesanya vs. Pereira, check out the live blog from MMA Fighting’s Alexander K. Lee.
Round 1
Pereira sprints across the cage using a front kick and a jump to get Izzy started. Izzy in southpaw, Pereira in orthodox. Both men immediately started checking and kicking.
Izzy is on the outside early as Pereira walks him down, flashing the lead hand. Izzy and Pereira are both active, with very low kicks. Some checks from both though. Both are able to kick but not too many other than their own kicks. Pereira scores a few good kicks and goes up.
Izzy is now coming forward. He’s feinting a lot, but Pereira isn’t biting. At least. Izzy goes high with a kick that’s blocked. Here, we’re witnessing patient kickboxing. And Izzy lands a stinging right hand counter to a low kick that stumbles Pereira back. He was not huge but he caught Pereira at just the right moment. First blood for the champion.
Pereira walking Izzy down now and chipping with that low kick. Pereira missed the left hook. Pereira ends up kicking Izzy with a head kick. Izzy then gets his leg kick and goes high. Pereira is under pressure and he’s using the high kick. Pereira returns fire with his own but Izzy blocks. And kicks low. Then, one is in the body.
Izzy comes up short as Pereira swings his right hand. Pereira really crowding Izzy now and lands a good kick to the body. Izzy low kick. Pereira staying in Izzy’s grill. And lands another body kick. Just misses a hook. And then a jumping knee as Izzy pivots.
Pereira intervened and quickly we had a bodylock from Adesanya. He looks to drag Pereira down but Pereira is too strong, he turns Izzy to the cage and rips some big shots to the body. Izzy then turns Pereira to the cage, and takes him away.
Short time, and Izzy land a right-hand to the temple! Pereira was hurt badly, but the horn still sounds. Izzy scores another great shot right after the buzzer. Pereira is in an awful way. He was still standing but he might be severely compromised.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Adesanya.
Round 2
Izzy might have had an advantage with the second shot after the Horn, but Pereira is able to recover well from the corner. He’s already on the move in this round and has Izzy at the fence.
Pereira fails with both a spin kick and a hook. Izzy has his back right on the cage but lands a good left hand. Pereira is being disrupted by Izzy’s hand-fighting skills in these spots.
Izzy chips with some kicks and sticks a sharp jab. Pereira is looking for a place to call his own. Pereira gets a nasty jab and another. Pereira gets some shots in and Izzy dances a bit along the fence. Then we get a clinch.
Izzy flips Pereira and he lands an inside chopping shot. He’s got and underhook and drops for a takedown but Pereira is able to stave it off. Izzy holds the clinch. Pereira wins the clinch and breaks. He then lands a terrible right hand.
Pereira is back at the top, but Izzy remains against the fence. Pereira then lands a jab on a left hook. Izzy getting caught lazy right now. He can’t even pivot that way. Jab sent Izzy back and Pereira takes a knee. Izzy turns to Jab and clinches. Pereira trying to put punches into Izzy but eating some knees here. Pereira is strong but doesn’t have the technique to get out or here.
They finally give in and Pereira gets back at it. Goes with a head kick that just gets blocked. Izzy fires a big counter and he’s starting to look uncomfortable. Pereira fires quickly and scores a second. It was too late to make any changes, but Pereira got it done with relative ease.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Pereira, 19-19 overall.
Round 3
Both me look fresh for the third round, and it begins with Izzy taking the center and Pereira circling. But not for too long. Pereira is the owner of the center.
Izzy flashing kicks early but nothing landing. Izzy back to the center and he lands a big right hand. When he’s getting Pereira backing up, he’s having a ton of success. Pereira tries to get it back, but Izzy almost clips him with an enormous counter.
Pereira gets too aggressive and they clinch in the center and Izzy gets the takedown! Izzy with a rear waistlock and he’s looking to take the back! Pereira turtling, trying to get to the fence to power up, but Izzy staying on him. Izzy has a couple of shots, and Izzy is able to hook him with his wrist control. Pereira tries to stand but can’t. Izzy starting to get some shots in here.
Pereira doesn’t have the tools to get out here. Izzy staying heavy on him. Pereira finally trying to get up but Izzy hits a mat-return. D-1 Adesanya!
Izzy tries to drag him back to back control and Pereira could escape but he rolls for a leglock! Pereira is not even close to Izzy, but Izzy is still in full guard. He is however looking exhausted. Who would’ve thought that two kickboxers could be grubbing between each other?
Izzy lands some great shots here. Pereira lost the round, and is now just trying to hold on to the horn. Izzy stands now, and applies an ax-kick on the body to get Pereira to move just in front of the horn.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Adesanya, 29-28 Adesanya overall.
Round 4
Pereira’s corner warns Pereira to stay off the ground. Yes. For sure. Both men seem to be in good shape still.
Pereira is back in the middle, but this time he doesn’t support Izzy as much. This is more systematic. It involves kicks by both men, and lots of hand-to-hand fighting.
Good low kick by the champ. Pereira just misses a left hook. Pereira has stopped participating in the activity, and now he is eating a right-hand. The champ does appear to be in better shape now, but Pereira gets him backed up to the fence and pops the jab. Izzy finding his right hand behind the jab, and he’s upping his volume.
Izzy now pushing Pereira back. Championship experience and cardio coming into play right now. Pereira against the fence but steps out. Izzy fishing for his right hand over the top. He is coming up just short. Soon he won’t. Pereira has dropped to a crawl, and his left leg is looking a bit tired.
Izzy reaches for a single but gets a body lock and puts Pereira up against the fence. Pereira is being pulled down by double underhooks. Pereira manages to get the hang of it but can’t seem to grasp what is happening and lands on his knees.
Izzy breaks the clinch and lands a right hand, but Pereira returns fire and now he’s stepping on the gas with a minute left. Izzy misses the big left hook, and he ducks under the clinch. He’s using the clinch as a safe zone from danger. Smart.
Pereira digging knees and body shots here. Izzy drops to a high crotch single, but can’t finish it. Pereira putting some shots to the body in here and just misses an elbow on the break. Left hook from Pereira glances and a right hand just before the bell.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Adesanya, 39-37 overall.
Round 5
Pereira’s corner telling him he needs a knockout and that’s probably true. It’s possible he won the 4th, but you can’t bank on that. 5 minutes left.
Pereira looking daggers and Adesanya fresh like a daisy. This round, he’s not going to be shy. Pereira comes forward aggressively and rips a big left hand to the body early. Izzy hand fighting, Pereira charging. This round, he’s going empty the tank.
A clinch and Izzy smothering in here with double unders. They break and Pereira checks a kick that sends Izzy reeling! He falls back over! He’s up and looks like his leg is fine but Pereira in pursuit now.
Pereira is closing in on Pereira and unloading !!!!. Izzy rolling but he’s eating the shots. He’s eating so many of them.Izzy still on his feet but Pereira DROPPING BOMBS AND ADESANYA IS DONE!!!!!! 5TH ROUND COMEBACK FOR THE NEW CHAMPION
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/11/13/23455633/israel-adesanya-vs-alex-pereira-full-fight-video-highlights-ufc-281?rand=96749