Alex Pereira Costs Drake $2M and Sends Conor McGregor & Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Prediction to Trash After Defeating Israel Adesanya at UFC 281

Israel Adesanya was looking for vengeance in the main event of UFC 281 inside the Madison Square Garden in New York tonight. However, he came up short against his nemesis, the Brazilian mixed martial artist Alex Pereira.

‘Poatan’ already had two victories over ‘The Last Stylebender’ during their Glory Kickboxing days, one of which came via a knockout. Now the Brazilian repeated history by knocking out Adesanya again in their third clash.

Pereira put maximum pressure on Adesanya in the first round. However, he got rocked at the end of the bell. In the second round though, ‘Poatan’ came back stronger and won it. However, in the third round of the fight, Izzy landed a takedown and controlled him for almost three minutes on the mate, winning the round.

‘The Last Stylebender’ won the fourth round as well, keeping himself balanced, while the Brazilian looked pretty gassed out. However, ‘Poatan’ came out all guns blazing in the fifth round. Just as it seemed like Adesanya was winning on the scorecard, Pereira landed a vicious combination and forced the referee to jump in and stop the fight.

ALSO READ: Only Fighter to Defeat Both Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira Picks UFC 281 Winner

Official Results- Alex Pereira defeats Israel Adesanya via knockout in the fifth round.

After Glory Kickboxing, this was Pereira’s third victory over the Kiwi. This time he also took Adesanya’s middleweight title, which many 185lbs contenders failed to do.

Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s prediction goes to trash and Drake losses $2M as Alex Pereira becomes the new champion at UFC 281

Just a few hours before the UFC 281 main event, former lightweight champion Conor McGregor asked fans to bet on Izzy on his Twitter account. However, his prediction went sideways.

Meanwhile, the UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov also had high hopes for ‘The Last Stylebender.’ As ‘The Eagle’ believed Izzy would equal Jon Jones’ record after a few more title defenses.

ALSO READ: Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Friend Expects Israel Adesanya to Walkout to Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Theme at UFC 281

The Canadian rapper Drake, who often wagers on major UFC events, also backed Izzy to defeat Pereira. He had a $2M bet on ‘The Last Stylebender,’ which he showed on his Instagram stories.

Following Izzy’s loss, many fans even billed it as the Drake curse. As the fighter on whom the Canadian rapper wagers his money, often losses. Thus, fans felt the same at UFC 281.

What is your reaction to Adesanya’s loss?