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Alex Pereira urges Israel Adesanya to thank referee for UFC 281 stoppage: ‘Thank him for saving your life’

Off the back of his stunning championship victory at UFC 281 last weekend, Brazilian striking ace, Alex Pereira has issued a scatching response to arch-rival, Israel Adesanya – urging him to thank referee, Marc Goddard for saving his life with his main event stoppage, as well as offering him one more opportunity to score a […]

Headlining the Madison Square Garden event, Sao Paulo finisher, Pereira rallied from losing three of the opening four rounds against champion, Adesanya – springing with a brutal combination at the fence in the fifth and final round to halt the Nigerian-Kiwi’s title reign and mint himself as the undisputed UFC middleweight champion.

Following the defeat, much was made of referee, Goddard’s stoppage of the fight, with the British official awarding Pereira a standing TKO win over Adesanya – who immediately protested against the nature of the stoppage, before renaging on his comments.

Alex Pereira offers Israel Adesanya opportunity to land title rematch

Sharing his thoughts on the stoppage, Pereira claimed Adesanya should thank Goddard for saving his life, and claimed he would be willing to fight the former champion next in a title re-run.

“(Israel) Adesanya stop making excuses saying that the referee stopped the fight early…” Alex Pereira posted on his official Instagram account. “You have to thank him for saving your life. The way you were with your head down looking at the ground, I only needed one or two more hits to connect a good knee to your face so wouldn’t know the outcome.”

“As I said at that point in the video, you were a great opponent and I respect you for that,” Alex Pereira continued. “Assume the mistakes along with your team without taking away my merits. You will have one more chance! You’re next!”

In the fallout following his championship loss, Adesanya revealed a persistent PCL injury almost ruled him from his UFC 281 headliner with Pereira, however, maintained he would fight the Brazilian in his next Octagon appearance.

Dan Hooker admits he prefers early stoppage for teammate Israel Adesanya following UFC 281 loss

UFC lightweight contender, Dan Hooker has admitted that while the fighter in him would like to see more opportunities for his fellow combatants to survive and overcome adversity in the Octagon, he admits he prefers an early stoppage – particularly when it comes to teammates following Israel Adesanya’s fifth round TKO loss at UFC 281. […]

Featuring in a main card opener at Madison Square Garden against the surging Peruvian grappler, Claudio Puelles, Hooker managed to survive an abundance of imanari roll attempts from the submission, ace before turning in a second round body kick knockout victory.

Headlining the event, Hooker’s teammate and training partner, Adesanya, suffered a fifth round knockout loss to challenger, Alex Pereira – dropping his undisputed middleweight championship.

In the aftermath of the main event fight, Adesanya voiced his displeasure to see the fight stopped by referee, Marc Goddard, however, failed to criticize the stoppage entirely.

Dan Hooker shares his thoughts on the controversial UFC 281 headliner stoppage

Sharing his thoughts on his teammate’s defeat at UFC 281, Hooker admitted that he preferred to see fights containing training partners called early rather than too late.

“It’s a weird line to walk,” Dan Hooker told Submission Radio. “Even as a friend, because I know what he’s capable of, and because I’ve been there in the past. You have to absolutely kill (me). You say that as the fighter. You go, ‘Make sure I’m dead.’ They know me, I don’t even have to say it… You, as the fighter, is always gonna think that.”

“Me, watching it as a friend, I just want him (Israel Adesanya) to be alright,” Dan Hooker continued. “As a friend, and as a teammate, I’d rather it too early than too late. As a fighter, obviously you’re like, ‘Make sure I’m really not moving,’ but as a friend, as a teammate, I would prefer it to be too early than too late.”

Dustin Poirier Shares Post-Fight Words From ‘Dweeb’ Michael Chandler

Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler didn’t fully bury the hatchet following their UFC 281 ‘Fight of the Night’. Poirier submitted Chandler in the third round of their UFC 281 lightweight battle. After getting in early trouble on the f…

Continue Reading Dustin Poirier Shares Post-Fight Words From ‘Dweeb’ Michael Chandler at MMA News.

Dan Hooker Prefers Early Stoppages Than Late For Teammates

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker has given his assessment of the stoppage in the UFC 281 main event between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. At this past weekend’s pay-per-view event, fans witnessed a dramatic title change inside the prestigious surroundings of New York City’s Madison Square Garden. The victim of the championship switch was Adesanya,…

Continue Reading Dan Hooker Prefers Early Stoppages Than Late For Teammates at MMA News.

Dustin Poirier uninterested in potential title eliminator with Beneil Dariush: ‘That’s not super exciting’

Former interim UFC lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier has claimed a potential title eliminator at 155lbs against the surging, Beneil Dariush, does not jump off the page at him, after he returned to the winner’s enclosure over the weekend. Featuring in a main card clash at UFC 281 last Saturday at Madison Square Garden, Poirier managed […]

Featuring in a main card clash at UFC 281 last Saturday at Madison Square Garden, Poirier managed to defeat one-time vacant title chaser, Michael Chandler, submitting the Missouri veteran with a third round rear-naked choke as part of a back-and-forth battle.

As for Dariush, the Iranian-born contender featured at UFC 280 back in October in Abu Dhabi, UAE – landing an impressive unanimous decision win over Poirier’s American Top Team training partner, Mateusz Gamrot. The outing came as Dariush’s first since he suffered a fractured fibula ahead of a planned February fight with champion, Islam Makahchev.

Dustin Poirier distances himself from an Octagon walk against Beneil Dariush

Weighing up a potential fight against Dariush off the back of his win over Chandler, Poirier, who had been linked with a February return at UFC 284 in Australia against the Kings MMA mainstay, insisted he was less than interested in the bout.

“Not really, honestly,” Dustin Poirier said of his interest in a fight with Beneil Dariush during an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. “No disrespect to Beneil – great fighter, and he did it the right way, he’s a very respectful guy, a hard worker, goes in there and handles business. And I respect that, dude, and I’ll always watch when he fights.”

“When we just talked about the other guys that I’ve fought recently, that one’s not super exciting when I think about it,” Dustin Poirier explained.

Embarking on a 2-1 Octagon tenure last year, Poirier scored back-to-back rematch and subsequent rubber match wins over former two-weight champion, Conor McGregor, before dropping a submission loss to former lightweight kingpin, Charles Oliveira last December.

Renato Moicano calls for Conor McGregor fight following UFC 281 win: ‘Moicano wants the money’

Off the back of an impressive submission win over Brad Riddell at UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden last weekend, Brazilian lightweight contender, Renato Moicano has floated a potential money fight against former duel-weight champion, Conor McGregor next. Featuring on the preliminary card of the MSG event in New York, Moicano managed to land a […]

Featuring on the preliminary card of the MSG event in New York, Moicano managed to land a first round submission win over Australian contender, Riddell. And off the back of the victory, earned the #13 rank in the official lightweight division – ahead of McGregor who fell to #14.

Renato Moicano insists Conor McGregor is “done” at the highest level

Commenting on the fact he gazumped McGregor in the lightweight rankings, Moicano insisted he would love to land a lucrative payday against the Dubliner, despite the thought that he was “done” at the highest level of the sport.

“F*ck (Conor) McGregor, bro,” Renato Moicano told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “He’s done, bro. Now it’s my time. McGregor, he did a lot for this sport. But right now, he’s done. But if he wants to get the smoke, he’s gonna be in trouble because I’m gonna beat him. I’m gonna beat his ass, bro, you can be sure of that.”

“Of course, I want to fight him, but I don’t think he’s gonna accept to fight me,” Renato Moicano continued. I think he’s going to 170 or something like that, he’s looking big right now. They (the UFC) give me a [dream] fight, it’s gonna be McGregor, or Islam Makachaev, because I wanna be champion and I wanna be a billionaire, I wanna be a millionaire, I wanna make money. McGregor has the money – Moicano wants the money, McGregor has the money, so why not do that fight.”

3-1 in his last four Octagon walks, Moicano had landed back-to-back submission wins over both Jai Herbert, and Alexander Hernandez, before suffering a unanimous decision loss to former lightweight champion and compatriot, Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 272 over the course of five rounds.

As for McGregor, the former undisputed lightweight and featherweight best has been sidelined since fracturing his left tibia and fibula in a UFC 264 doctor’s stoppage TKO loss to Dustin Poirier back in July of last year.