![Israel Adesanya reflects on iconic Alex Pereira KO with David Goggins [Image courtesy: FREESTYLEBENDER on YouTube, and Getty Images]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/04/5617e-17455199985996-1920.jpg)
![Israel Adesanya reflects on iconic Alex Pereira KO with David Goggins [Image courtesy: FREESTYLEBENDER on YouTube, and Getty Images]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http%3A//www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns%3Axlink='http%3A//www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20viewBox='0%200%2010%206.25'%3E%3Cfilter%20id='b'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20stdDeviation='.5'%3E%3C/feGaussianBlur%3E%3CfeComponentTransfer%3E%3CfeFuncA%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20type='discrete'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20tableValues='1%201'%3E%3C/feFuncA%3E%3C/feComponentTransfer%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20filter='url(%23b)'%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,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAE/9oADAMBAAIQAxAAAACEQDP/xAAeEAACAgEFAQAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMEBQAGERIiQf/aAAgBAQABPwDY2XpzWq2QylNLOfcySCzwwKxmJvCv35UA/ODqLedt4kZq0XYgE+21/8QAGBEAAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIBBBH/2gAIAQIBAT8AsLGKf//EABcRAAMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACBDH/2gAIAQMBAT8Al1j/2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Israel Adesanya recently reflected on his iconic knockout win over Alex Pereira at UFC 287, which saw him regain his middleweight championship. He shared a powerful moment with David Goggins as he described the significance of the win to his career.
Adesanya was 0-3 against Pereira entering the fight and lost his middleweight championship to the Brazilian in their previous encounter. It was a significant win for 'The Last Stylebender' as he avenged his losses to 'Poatan' dating back to their kickboxing career and then followed it up with a passionate post-fight interview.
UFC on TNT Sports uploaded a clip from Adesanya's YouTube channel in which he reflected on his iconic knockout win with Goggins. Adesanya mentioned that he was adamant about wanting an immediate rematch after losing his title and wanted to prove he could defeat Pereira:
Trending
"What I hate is when people not really even critics or anything, but like, 'Oh, he's scared'. I'm like, 'I fought this guy back-to-back, you think I'm scared?' ... I was just waiting for the moment. Finally, I have him in front of me, he felt confident enough to stand right there... One thing I remember was the bounce off the fence. So I bounced off the fence and he hit the ground... I already visualized it in the shower and I did it backstage."
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
Check out the full clip featuring Israel Adesanya's comments below:
Israel Adesanya explains celebration after knocking out Alex Pereira
Israel Adesanya also explained his celebration after knocking out Alex Pereira to regain his middleweight championship at UFC 287.
During the aforementioned clip, Adesanya disclosed the reason for the celebration was because the arrow taunt is what Pereira was known for and mentioned that doing it three times unintentionally signaled him avenging his three losses:
"I didn't even hesitate. Like, I didn't celebrate and then come back. I just got up straight away and... [Pereira's] thing is, he does the arrows. And people said I did three arrows cause he's beat me three times. I don't know, it's just a mix of conscience thing."
Check out Israel Adesanya's celebration after knocking out Alex Pereira at UFC 287 below:
