There’s been a lot of talk about UFC 281 main event between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya. The clash produced a sea of memes – many of which are undeniably funny regardless of the side you were rooting for.
And while Adesanya initially felt it was an early stoppage – his coach and manager disagreed.
Israel Adesanya’s coach Eugene Bareman thinks that Alex Pereira’s victory wasn’t an early stoppage. He said that he saw some “signs” that Adesanya was in big trouble and couldn’t have continued.
Alex Pereira defeated his old kickboxing rival Israel Adesanya at UFC 281. ‘Poatan’ was losing on the judges scorecard but had an incredible comeback in the final round. He delivered a combination of punches and the referee stopped the event. The Brazilian came out victorious, becoming the new UFC middleweight champion.
Israel Adesanya’s coach Eugene Bareman has a different opinion. During a talk with Combat TV, Bareman said that he was relieved that the action was stopped sooner.
“I can’t sit here and truthfully say that was an early stoppage. I’m happy with the stoppage personally. I thought Israel was in trouble. Of all my experience that I’ve had in the sport, I saw some signs that he was in trouble.” Bareman said.
The founder of City Kickboxing believes that Adesanya could’ve suffered more serious damage if Pereira landed a perfect strike. He also credited referee Marc Goddard for his quick decision to stop the match.