Israel Adesanya defeated Alex Pereira by second-round knockout (punches) to retain his UFC middleweight championship on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Adesanya (23-1) defended his title for the fifth time, and he extended his winning streak to 12 fights. Pereira (6-1) lost for the first time in his professional MMA career.

The fight was a rematch of a kickboxing bout in 2017, which Pereira won by KO in the first round. This time, Adesanya was able to avenge that loss by knocking out Pereira in the second round.

Adesanya came out strong in the first round, landing a number of strikes on Pereira. Pereira was able to land some strikes of his own, but Adesanya was clearly the more effective fighter in the round.

In the second round, Adesanya continued to press the action. He landed a number of punches, and he eventually knocked Pereira down with a right hand. Pereira got back to his feet, but Adesanya was able to finish him off with a flurry of punches.

With the win, Adesanya remains the UFC middleweight champion. He is now the longest-reigning champion in the history of the division.

Pereira is still a dangerous fighter, but he was unable to get past Adesanya this time. He will need to regroup and come back stronger if he wants to challenge for the title again. HustleTV