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‘There’s no time limit and Izzy still has that belt’: Conor McGregor insists Adesanya WOULD have beaten Alex Pereira in their UFC title fight under old MMA rules, backing Last Stylebender for rematch
- Conor McGregor spoke about Israel Adesanya’s fight against Alex Pereira
- The Last Stylebender lost his UFC middleweight championship belt in November
- McGregor said Adesanya would have beaten Pereira if there was no time limit
- And ‘The Notorious’ backed the 33-year-old to regain his title in a rematch
Conor McGregor has spoken out about Israel Adesanya’s UFC title fight against Alex Pereira, insisting the 33-year-old would have won under the old MMA rules.
The Last Stylebender, now 23-2, lost his middleweight championship belt to the Brazilian (7-1) at UFC 281 in November, suffering a technical knockout, due to punches, in New York.
But the iconic former double champion McGregor wrote in Twitter that Adesanya would have won the fight had there been no time limits on the rounds, before backing the New Zealander to triumph in the rematch.
Conor McGregor has spoken out on Israel Adesanya’s recent defeat against Alex Pereira (left)
He said Last Stylebender would have beaten Brazilian veteran Pereira, who ultimately triumphed by TKO at UFC 281 in the US in November, had there been no time limit on the rounds.
He said: ‘A really solid fighter is this guy! Stability. He and @stylebender are a great rivalry! I can’t wait to see how it plays out!
‘Izzy so close every time. There is no time limit and Izzy still has that belt. Excited for his next appearance! Team @ParadigmSports to the end!’
Currently, professional men’s boxing fights have 12 three-minute rounds, while MMA competitions now have five-minute rounds, a rule that McGregor believes got Pereira out of trouble last month.
McGregor (above) and Adesanya are representatives of the sports agency Paradigm Sports.
Adesanya had wobbled the 35-year-old with a big right hand late in the first round, but was unable to capitalize on his dominance at the time the bell rang, meaning Pereira was able to recover in his chair.
But the veteran ultimately held off the champion to win, making it three wins out of three against Adesanya, after beating his opponent twice in kickboxing, a controversial decision, followed by a major knockout.
Both McGregor and Adesanya are part of the sports agency Paradigm Sports.