Israel Adesanya knocks Alex Pereira out cold to retain UFC middleweight championship

Israel Adesanya has produced one of the greatest knockout victories in UFC history to retain his middleweight championship.

The anticipation was palpable in Miami for Alex Pereira’s UFC middleweight title defence against Israel Adesanya.

It’s been one of the most intense rivalries in recent MMA history, and their second UFC bout more than delivered.

The two walked out looking as focused as possible and you just knew this was going to be a heated fight.

The first round was cagey with each fighter wanting to feel each other out making it a tough one to call for the judges.

Both fighters seemed more intent on landing significant strikes in the second round as the Miami fans came alive.

The two middleweights both managed to land some decent strikes with the Last Stylebender’s feet doing much of the work.

The Brazilian focused much of his attacks on weakening the New Zealander’s legs with some brutal calf kicks.

The fight began to break out and Adesanya looked to be struggling before the Nigerian-born fighter caught him with a brutal right hook.

He absolutely rocked the Brazilian before catching him yet again as the champion fell to the floor and was out cold.

The arena erupted as Adesanya mimicked Pereira’s bow-and-arrow shots - a true sign of the intensity of this rivalry.

Rogan called it one of the ‘greatest knockouts’ he had ever seen.

It was a brutal way for The Last Stylebender to regain his title and finally get one up on his all-time rival.

The UFC community were in awe of Adesanya's knockout and post-fight celebrations.