Israel Adesanya desired a swift rematch following his loss to Alex Pereira in November, which caused him to lose the 185-pound championship title that he had held since 2019.

Israel Adesanya reclaims middleweight championship belt after knocking out Alex Pereira in UFC 287 in Miami.

Adesanya landed two right hands, dropping Pereira to the mat in the second round before finishing the fight with ground and pound at 4:21.

Pereira had defeated Adesanya twice in kickboxing before winning their last MMA fight in November.

Adesanya, who won the middleweight belt in 2019, defended it five times before losing it to Pereira in November.