CONOR MCGREGOR’S prediction for the UFC 281 backfired as Alex Pereira beat Isreal Adesanya in the final round.
The Irishman believed Adesanya would his defend middleweight title belt at Madison Square Garden in the early hours of this morning.
He wrote on Twitter: “Adesanya wins tonight. My bet.”
McGregor’s backing of Adeanya will not surprise many as the Nigerian-New Zealander belongs to the same management team – Paradigm Sports – as him.
Adesanya had hoped for a sixth successful defence of his title in New York but fell short as he was knocked out in the fifth round.
The 33-year-old was winning on the scorecards as he was the better in the opening rounds of the fight, but in the final round Pereira landed a flurry of hits on him.
Adesanya was sent wobbling by the onslaught and referee Marc Goddard decided enough was enough and stopped the fight.
This meant that Pereira became a UFC champion, despite only fighting four times in the promotion.
The knockout ended Adesanya’s 12-fight unbeaten middleweight run, but he was still able to applaud his opponent after the fight.
In his post-fight interview, he said: “F****ng crazy end. Similar to the last time. Same story. It’s crazy.
“He’s durable and he recovers well. Even in the fifth round, I knew he was going to come strong because he was down. Same thing as last time again. It’s another great story for him, but it’s not over. This is still war.
“My leg. My leg happened. He got calf kicks 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. He is the new champion and congrats to him. He did it again.”
