Israel Adesanya has revealed that he lost his UFC 281 title to Alex Pereira due to a kick to his calf that left him with a dead leg.
Recall that the Nigerian-born fighter suffered a shocking fifth round technical knockout loss to Pereira inside Madison Square Garden.
Israel Adesanya later appeared in front of the media for the post-fight press conference to reflect on the loss. ‘
He also highlighted how things started to go wrong in the fifth round.
“I’ve been doing this, this is my third fight in 10 months.
“Every time I fight, I risk losing what you guys deem as the prestigious — which it is — the belt and all that,” Adesanya said.
“It was a kick to his calf that left him with a dead leg.
“He hit my peroneal nerve, so that’s why my footwork was compromised.
“Even when I tripped and went backward, I had to do the roly poly. Because I was like, ‘Oh s—, I just tripped over, it’s not like me.’
“So, kudos to him for investing in those calf kicks because it cost me,” Adesanya added.
He also assured that “I’ll be back, it’s not over yet” in a hint that he would take a rematch against Pereira.
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