Israel Adesanya has been handed an indefinite medical suspension following his knockout loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 281.
Adesanya, 33, was attempting to make the sixth defence of his middleweight title at Madison Square Garden in New York against old kickboxing rival Pereira, but he lost the belt after being knocked out in the fifth round. 'The Last Stylebender' was winning most of the fight and just needed to hear the final bell to retain his belt, but Pereira hurt him with a flurry of punches that saw referee Marc Goddard stop the fight with three minutes left.
The New York State Athletic Commission has now issued its medical suspensions as 19 fighters from the event have been suspended indefinitely, one of which is former champion Adesanya who has been given a mandatory rest period of 60 days. Pereira also received an indefinite suspension from the commission, with his rest period being only 30 days.
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Adesanya explained why he wants to take some time away from the cage following his knockout loss, as he said on The MMA Hour : “It was my third fight in 10 months, as a champion, putting it on the line every single time. I’m going to really enjoy myself and just chill. I’ll travel maybe, and help my teammates as well. Help them get ready for their respective fights, but I deserve this. I earned this."
Both Zhang Weili and Carla Esparza were given some of the shortest suspensions from the event, as the pair need to sit out for just seven days. Esparza lost her strawweight title in her first defence against Weili, as the American gave up her back in the second round and was tapped out by 'Magnum'. Weili is now a two-time strawweight champion having previously won the same title in 2019.
Dustin Poirier was handed a 30-day suspension following his submission win against Michael Chandler in the event's Fight of the Night, which saw both men take home $50,000 bonuses for their efforts. Chandler, who is now 2-3 in the UFC, was given a 60-day suspension for the nature of his injuries.
Five fighters were handed 90 day suspensions from the event, one of which was Frankie Edgar as he was brutally knocked out by Chris Guterriez in his final UFC fight after spending 15-years in the promotion. Former light-heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes was also handed 90 days on the sidelines after being knocked out by Ryan Spann in his first fight for 18 months.
