ALEX PEREIRA won a spot at the UFC Middleweight Title with a brutal knockout of Sean Strickland.
The American and the former Glory double champion fought on the main card at UFC 276 in Las Vegas.
At UFC 276
, Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland fought.
Strickland, a controversial pressure fighter, was the favorite to win a sixth consecutive victory and propel himself into the title mix.
Pereira's nasty left hook ended Adesanya's chances of facing him.
Pereira, elated after the fight interview, stated: "Many people talk to my two wins about Adesanya but say it was only in kickboxing."
"Today, my fight with the No.4 ranking was a victory so I feel I have earned the fight."
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Pereira began by opening up with a series low kicks that he then followed with body shots.
Strickland tried to accelerate the pace, but was met with a few stiff jabs.
Pereira returned to the leg kick as Strickland continued to move forward, seemingly without any regard for the dynamite held in his opponent's hand.
He was soon on the ground after a powerfully left hook landed on his chin.
Pereira closed out the show with two right hands, which cemented his position as a player at the 185lb division.
Since last year's debut, Adesanya has been following his ex-kickboxing opponent.
The Nigerian-born New Zealander isn't convinced a title shot should be his after three fights. SunSport reports that he said so to SunSport: "I don’t think so.
Jiri [Prochazka] is a fighter like Jiri. Jiri has fought MMA around the world before he joined the UFC.
"So he has a lot of experience in MMA. Alex is a skilled kickboxer, which makes it a completely different sport.
"But Jiri can fight in the UFC for a title, so let Alex fight for it if he wins.
"We'll wait to see if he wins first. We shouldn't get ahead of ourselves.
