Firas Zahabi thinks Alex Pereira may never be the same after getting knocked out by Israel Adesanya.
Pereira (7-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) was knocked out cold by Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) in Round 2 of their title fight rematch at UFC 287 in Miami this past Saturday.
The Tristar Gym head coach pointed to Jose Aldo’s 13-second knockout loss to Conor McGregor as an example and how Aldo no longer was a dominant fighter after the brutal loss.
“I think that that knockout, the way he fell, the way he was out, the way he got hit three times – that could be one of those career-ending fights,” Zahabi said on his YouTube channel. “Like, he might win a few fights, lose a fight – he might never be the same.
“Once you get knocked out really badly like that – like for instance, I’ll tell you, when Aldo got knocked out by McGregor, he was never the same again. When Georges TKO’d B.J. Penn, when he gave him that beating (at UFC 94) – it was just a really bad beating – he was never really the same again.”
Prior to getting knocked out by Adesanya, Pereira found success with his leg kicks. He had Adesanya backed against the cage before Adesanya caught him with a blistering counter right that started the fight-ending sequence.
Adesanya claimed he was baiting Pereira, but Zahabi thinks he was in trouble before he landed.
“Adesanya gets in trouble early,” Zahabi said. “He got hurt to the legs. That wasn’t playing possum. I don’t believe it. Adesanya was not playing possum. He was legitimately hurt. I think it’s just his pride telling everybody, ‘No, no, I wasn’t hurt.’ No, he was hanging by a thread.”
Zahabi wanted to see a trilogy bout between Pereira and Adesanya, but “Poatan” recently announced he’ll make the move to light heavyweight for his next fight.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.
