Last night Israel Adesanya’s nemesis Alex Pereira re-announced himself to the world of MMA—with a bang!
Watch out MMA world, Alex Pereira has arrived.
Last night the Brazilian kickboxing star made his Stateside MMA debut, at LFA 95, where he took on Thomas Powell. The fight didn’t make it out of the first round. You can see what happened below:
HOLY _____! Pereira’s power is unreal!!! #LFA95 pic.twitter.com/0EAoY6z4fA
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) November 21, 2020
Pereira’s left hook caught Powell clean on the jaw, sending the American flat on his face. Powell remained motionless on the ground for a good five minutes. Powell would come to, though, reportedly asking where he was and what had just happened.
Pereira is a 33-year-old Glory kickboxing veteran. His accolades with that promotion include the middleweight title and and interim light heavyweight title.
His record in kickboxing is an impressive 40-6 with 29 knockouts. On Pereira’s record are two victories over current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
The first time he met The Last Stylebender was at Glory of Heroes in China in 2016. That bout ended with a decision victory for the Brazilian. The second time they met Pereira knocked Adesanya clean out, at Glory of Heroes 7 in Sao Paulo. He knocked Adesanya out with the same left hook that did so much damage last night.
Still the only man to KO Israel Adesanya. Alex Pereira. #UFC248 #MMATwitter #Kickboxing #UFC pic.twitter.com/eURfv62DwI
— Marcellino™ (@marsgotsbars) March 8, 2020
His win at LFA was not Pereira’s first foray into MMA. His MMA debut was back in 2015, which he lost via submission. In 2016 he won two MMA fights (both by TKO/KO) before fully dedicating himself to kickboxing for the next four years.
With his history with Adesanya, if Pereira keeps winning in impressive fashion, expect to see him fast tracked to the UFC very soon.