(Video) Alex Pereira threatened to kill Israel Adesanya going into final round

By all accounts Alex Pereira was trailing behind Israel Adesanya at the end of round 4. Popular vote had it 3-1 going into final round and that’s pretty much undisputed in either camp.

At that point Pereira’s corner delivered a speech for the ages, telling him he has to knock out Adesanya in order to win.

This is perhaps what prompted Pereira to make a big threat heading into the 5th round. At the opening of round 5 of their clash at UFC 281, Alex Pereira promised to “kill” Israel Adesanya.

Before the round begins, Pereira can be seen in his corner telling Adesanya he is “pronto para matar,” or “ready to kill.”

Adesanya was wobbled by the Brazilian prompting referee Marc Goddard to halt the bout. Adesanya contested the decision, believing he should have been allowed more time to recuperate.

After losing his championship, Adesanya said the UFC assured him he would “100%” receive a rematch against Pereira right away.

Pereira stated,

“It doesn’t matter to me, the UFC can choose whoever they want me to fight and if they think a rematch is the fight they are going to do then I will be ready.”

“A lot of emotions went through my head, so many years of hard work and dedication, now here I am as the champion of the world. I tried to pace myself but going into the last round my corner kept it real with me and told me I needed to knock him out.”

“Adesanya was taking some pretty heavy hits and the referee is there to keep him safe, so I think the stoppage was absolutely correct.”

Adesanya applauded Pereira’s strategy and claimed that the Brazilian’s kicks had hurt his peroneal nerve.

He said,

“He got calf kicks early on and invested well. He hit my peroneal nerve. So that’s why my footwork was compromised. Even when I tripped and went backwards, I had to do the rolie polie. I just tripped over, it’s not like me. Kudos to him for investing in those calf kicks, because it cost me.”