Israel Adesanya has reflected on losing his UFC 281 belt to Alex Pereira on Sunday morning.
The Nigerian-born fighter suffered a shocking fifth round technical knockout loss to Pereira inside Madison Square Garden.
“I’ve been doing this, this is my third fight in 10 months.
“Every time I fight, I risk losing what you guys deem as the prestigious — which it is — the belt and all that,”; Adesanya said.
He also highlighted how things started to go wrong in the fifth round.
It was a kick to his calf that left him with a dead leg.
“He hit my peroneal nerve, so that’s why my footwork was compromised.
“Even when I tripped and went backward, I had to do the roly poly. Because I was like, ‘Oh s—, I just tripped over, it’s not like me.’
“So, kudos to him for investing in those calf kicks because it cost me,”; Adesanya added.
He also assured that “I’ll be back, it’s not over yet”; in a hint that he would take a rematch against Pereira.
