Alex Poatán knocked out Israel adesanya No. UFC 281 (Photo: Instagram/UFC_Brasil)
Israel adesanya e Alex Poatán faced each other in UFC 281 last Saturday (12), with the Brazilian knocking out a standing knockout over the Nigerian in the fifth round, in a fight valid for the middleweight belt (up to 83,9kg.). Referee Marc Goddard's stoppage was considered controversial and also ended up being criticized by part of the MMA community.
On his official channel on 'YouTube', the former middleweight champion, Michael Bisping, commented on the interruption. The Englishman revealed that he understood Adesanya's frustration and recalled his defeat to Georges St-Pierre, but considered Goddard's performance correct.
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“To be honest, I don’t think it was stopped early. However, I think there is a debate and discussion to be had. If I were Israel, I would be very upset. I love Marc Goddard, he's one of the best in the business, I'm not saying that. But from a fighter's point of view, if I want to take my belt away, I want to be choked and left unconscious on the floor in Madison Square Garden. That’s exactly what GSP did to me”, analyzed Bisping.
Although he considers the decision to be correct, Michael also believes that, if he had deemed it necessary, the referee could have held it for a few more seconds. The commentator, however, notes that Israel was static and defensive in front of Alex in the last moments.
“I think at this level of the game, you can expect a little more, but fighter safety is absolutely paramount. Izzy was looking at the floor, but he was standing up and kind of moving his head. So this is a bit defensive. But still, it still wasn’t a bad stoppage,” he concluded.
In the 281st edition of Ultimate, Poatan faced off against Adesanya and went through some difficult moments in the fight, but turned things around and managed a knockout in the fifth round to become the third Brazilian middleweight champion (up to 83,9 .XNUMXkg.) in the history of the organization.
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