Whoa, boy! Things just got interesting.

In case you somehow missed it, Alex Pereira authored a tremendous fifth-round comeback stoppage of Israel Adesanya at UFC 281, wresting the middleweight title from “The Last Stylebender” and throwing the division into chaos. Now, the 185-pound weight class is governed by a man with only eight career MMA wins. His game is more complex than it seems.

Buddy, I am here for it.

*]Adesanya was an outstanding champion who is still one of the best fighters around. The truth is that the middleweight division was boring under his watch. This is not his fault. Long-reigning champions have the same problem. Interest is smothered by dominance, which Adesanya undoubtedly dominated, often to his disadvantage. We now have a champion with some clear liability (those grappling matches were poor), so guys will be lining up to try to take him down. These things are going to be very entertaining.

Be truthful: Who would you choose to beat if the UFC decided that Pereira was the winner? Pereira is likely to be the favourite, although no one would trust him. This would even apply when the world champion faces a man with less than one-year experience and three fights. This is electrifying!

After three years of being reasonably confident Adesanya was going to win, only being a matter of whether he did it by dynamic finish or controlled decision, having a champion who might be an underdog in his first title defense is fascinating stuff, especially because maybe he shouldn’t be. We truly know so little about Pereira as a fighter that if you said he was about to rattle off five title defenses or lose five straight, both are equally plausible. That maybe isn’t totally unprecedented (Brock Lesnar springs to mind), but this is rarified stuff, and it’s incredibly compelling.

* Other people may talk about Adesanya’s strategic decisions or be disappointed that such an inexperienced fighter won the title. MMA is meant to be entertaining and fun. With Alex Pereira’s turn on Saturday, MMA has become more fascinating and fun.

UFC 281 Quotes

“I tried to pace myself, but going into the last round, my corners and Glover kept it real with me.” – Alex Pereira on his fifth round comeback and knowing he needed a finish to win.

“F****** bring back Steve Mazzagatti.” – Israel Adesanya on the stoppage in his loss to Alex Pereira.

” I wouldn’t rule out .” Dana White discusses the possibility of a rematch immediately between Pereira and Adesanya.

“A million Chinese MMA fan, they want a huge pay-per view event in China .”. Weili Zhang discusses her desires after reclaiming UFC’s strawweight title.

“Sorry you’re down there, but I didn’t create gravity.” – Michael Chandler on spraying Dustin Poirier with blood during their fight.

Stock Report

Stock Up

Alex Pereira: In only his fourth fight in the UFC and eighth fight overall, Pereira won the middleweight championship. There are still a ton of questions about the new champ, but “Poatan” proved that if nothing else, he is a legitimate threat to anyone at 185 pounds.

Zhang Weili: It was the outcome that was expected but, that didn’t make the victory any less sweet. Zhang reclaimed the strawweight title she lost to Rose Namajunas, becoming just the 13th fighter to reclaim a belt in the UFC.

Ryan Spann: After knocking out former light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes in just 80 seconds, Spann explained his performance by saying this was the first fight he ever had a real training camp for. If we take him at his word, the light heavyweight division has officially been put on notice.

Erin Blanchfield: It’s tough for Blanchfield’s sky-high stock to rise any further, but her absolute demolition of the incredibly popular Molly McCann did it. McCann is a quality fighter, and Blanchfield ran through her with ease. At this point it’s not a question of if she fights for a title, but when.

Neutral

Dustin Poirier: Poirier was expected to defeat Michael Chandler in a “Fight of the Year” candidate, and he did just that. Although some may want to give him a reward, Poirier just held his place in the ultra-deep waters division’s lightweight division.

Dan Hooker: Hooker’s second-round TKO was imperative to keep “The Hangman” as a going concern in the lightweight division. He’ll need to win a few more matches, given his tough start before the win.

Stock Down

Israel Adesanya Would Adesanya have managed to keep the fight alive and win a decisive victory over Pereira? We might sing a completely different song. But then again, if I had wheels, I’d be a wagon. Pereira was too content to concede ground, fight with his back against the fence, Adesanya did not press his benefits, and Pereira didn’t push his advantage. He was able to mess around like that for awhile, but eventually, “The Last Stylebender” found out.