ISRAEL ADESANYA’s career could have been “ended” by Alex Pereira had referee Marc Goddard not intervened.
The Last Stylebender’s dominant reign as middleweight champion came to an emphatic end last weekend in the main event of UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden.
GETTYIsrael Adesanya suffered a fifth-round TKO loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 281[/caption]
GETTYThe Last Stylebender tried to survive the incoming storm after being rocked with a left hook[/caption]
ReutersAdesanya initially protested referee Marc Goddard’s stoppage but is now ‘fine’ with it[/caption]
GETTYRenowned MMA coach Firas Zahabi reckons Adesanya could have received career-changing damage had the fight not been stopped[/caption]
Brazilian Pereira rallied in the fifth and final round to score a sensational TKO victory, a stoppage the former champion initially protested.
But legendary mixed martial arts coach Firas Zahabi believes Adesanya would’ve received potentially career-changing damage had Goddard not called a halt to proceedings.
He said on his YouTube channel: “Pereira could have very possibly ended Adesanya’s career if the referee did not intervene.”
Zahabi – the former head coach of MMA great Georges St-Pierre – believes Pereira would’ve taken out Adesanya with the same flying knee he KO’d Andreas Michailidis with his UFC debut last year.
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He continued: “Guys, if the referee did not intervene, a scissor knee was coming. Guys, the greatest scissor knee I have seen in all of combat sports, ever, is Alex Pereira.
“It’s an incredible knee from a giant, who’s incredibly explosive. He throws it incredibly quick.
“I thought when Adesanya was dazed like that, the knee was coming.
“If Marc Goddard did not step in, it could have been a serious concussion, broken jaw, broken orbital, or fractured skull even.
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“It could have been something that ruined or ended Adesanya’s professional career. So I’m very grateful that Marc Goddard stopped it.”
Having watched back his ill-fated title defence, Adesanya has no issue with Goddard’s stoppage of the fight.
During an appearance on The MMA Hour, The Nigerian-born New Zealander said: “I don’t blame the referee.
“‘Marc did a good job, but you see it when I get up. I’m fine. I was lucid. I didn’t get ‘rocked’ rocked.
“I did everything in my power to make sure I was ready for this fight.
“I was the best I’ve ever felt. Literally, the best I’ve ever felt. I got compromised. It was a smart move.”