Alex Pereira admits Israel Adesanya could have finished him in round one at UFC 281, says he recovers "super-fast"

Alex Pereira opened up about his come-from-behind win against Israel Adesanya at UFC 281, which saw him earn a fifth-round TKO to capture the UFC middleweight championship.

Pereira was a guest on The MMA Hour, where he told host Ariel Helwani that there could have been a different outcome as early as the first round. At the end of the first round of the UFC 281 headliner, Adesanya stepped in and badly rocked Pereira. As 'The Last Stylebender' was about to tee off on the Brazilian, he was saved by the bell.

Check out 'The Last Stylebender' rocking Pereira at the end of the first round:

'Poatan' admitted that Adesanya could have finished him:

"It was a normal fight for me. The few of the punches, I actually went to my corner thinking that I got hit just once - I did not even see the second punch - but it could have been over [within] 30 more seconds... Maybe he could have finished the fight."

Helwani followed up by asking Pereira how long it took him to recover after Adesanya struck him at the end of the round. 'Poatan' brought up that he tends to recover quickly even under dire circumstances:

"I recover super-fast. When the round was over, I didn't know where to go. I kind of like grabbed my shorts and I'm like, 'Somebody is gonna come get me,' somebody came to get me. By the time I sat on the stool I was already fine."

Pereira's recovery, especially considering the significant strike that 'Izzy' landed, was remarkable. He was motivated and didn't fold under pressure.

Instead, he finished 'Izzy' in the fifth round after it was clear that his only hopes of winning the title were if he won via knockout or submission.

Check out the full video:

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Alex Pereira believes he is fighting Israel Adesanya next

While speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira spoke about his future and who he could be fighting next.

'Poatan' had a back-and-forth with Khamzat Chimaev on social media, and he even took up the welterweight on his offer to fight. He revealed that he had told the promotion that he'd be willing to fight 'Borz' in a light heavyweight bout at UFC 284.

Based on Pereira's offer to fight Chimaev at 205lbs, it seems likely that the UFC will find other opponents for both men. 'Poatan' mentioned that he is focused on fighting 'Izzy' again, which is logical because of how dominant Adesanya's middleweight title reign was.