'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Reigning champion Israel Adesanya holds 15 knockouts on his stellar professional MMA record, which consists of 23 wins. Meanwhile, five of Alex Pereira's six wins have come via KOs.
This means that 65% of the UFC middleweight champion's MMA wins have come via knockouts, in contrast to 83% of the Brazilian's victories.
The Nigerian-New Zealander's last knockout win came in his second title defense against Paulo Costa at UFC 253 in 2020. His first came against James Griffiths on his MMA debut at Supremacy Fighting Championship 9.
Pereira's latest KO win came in his first-round win against Sean Strickland at UFC 276 this past July. His first knockout victory in MMA came against Marcelo Cruz at Jungle Fighting 85.
Trending
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
Interestingly, Adesanya's only knockout loss came against 'Poatan' in a kickboxing bout at Glory of Heroes 15 in March 2017.
The upcoming UFC 281 fight card is headlined by the middleweight title clash between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira.
The UFC 281 bout will mark the sixth time the 33-year-old champion will be putting his 185-pound title on the line. The event is also the first time the Brazilian will be fighting for a UFC championship.
Israel Adesanya says Alex Pereira should be thankful for him after getting the title shot
Alex Pereira is the only man to have knocked out Israel Adesanya. As such, the middleweight champion feels that history is one of the reasons why the Brazilian is getting a title shot so early in his UFC career.
During the press conference for UFC 281, the Nigerian-New Zealander said that Pereira was getting a crack at the belt only because he had already cleared out the top echelon of the division.
Responding to a question about whether he was bothered by people using his name to promote the Brazilian, 'The Last Stylebender' said:
"For me even right now, I've pretty much cleaned the division and I'm lapping it again. So I cleared the way. He should be grateful, he wouldn't be here without me. My run to the title was a lot more impressive than what he's done. So he should be grateful that he is here because of me."
Watch Israel Adesanya talk about Alex Pereira below:
