Stephen Dunmoye

Israel Adesanya has revealed that he lost his title reign yesterday to Alex Pereira lost due to a kick on his calf.

Recall that the Nigerian-born fighter suffered a shocking fifth round technical knockout loss to Pereira inside Madison Square Garden.

Israel Adesanya later appeared in front of the media for the post-fight press conference to reflect on the loss and he also highlighted how things started to go wrong in the fifth round.

According to Adesanya, “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.

“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.

“I’ll be back, it’s not over yet” in a hint that he would take a rematch against Pereira.