Israel Adesanya lost to Alex Pereira for a third time on Saturday, costing the UFC champion his middleweight belt, but he is already looking forward to a rematch.
Pereira is the only fighter ever to have stopped Adesanya, knocking him out in one of a pair of kickboxing wins.
And at UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden, the Brazilian repeated the trick, winning by TKO in the final round of a bout Adesanya had enjoyed the better of to that point.
Adesanya was not impressed by the stoppage, saying: "I'm grateful. What a life, what a moment.
"It's f***ing crazy, isn't it? It's similar to the last time – same story. It's crazy. I was fine, I was still lucid, but s*** happens.
"I talked to my coaches, and I trust them, but I was fine. I could see everything. My eyes might have rolled back a little bit, but I was lucid."
It was only a second UFC defeat for Adesanya and his first at middleweight, where he had been champion since 2019. Pereira only entered the UFC for the first time last November.
But Adesanya accepts the risk of defeat as part of the role as champion, replying when asked if he would be pursuing a rematch: "Of course, of course. Come on, man.
"This was my third fight in 10 months. Every time I fight, I risk losing what you guys deem as the prestigious belt.
"I put it on the line because I'm not trying to just fight once and then chill, do my lap around and parade as a champion and not risk so much.
"I put it on the line, and this is what happens. Dare to be great – and I am."
Adesanya referred to Leonardo DiCaprio's portrayal of Jordan Belford in The Wolf of Wall Street as he added: "'I'm not f***ing leaving'. Yeah, I'm still right here. I'm not going anywhere."
'It's playoff basketball' – Tatum unfazed by physical nature of Celtics-Heat battle
Jayson Tatum showed he was unfazed by the Miami Heat's physicality as he logged his first career playoff triple-double in the Boston Celtics' 114-94 Game 1 victory on Sunday.
Top-seeded Boston seized the initiative in their first-round series against Miami at TD Garden, with Tatum adding 10 rebounds and 10 assists to his 23 points, leading six Celtics in double figures.
Tatum's fine performance came despite some rough treatment from the Heat, taking one huge hit from Caleb Martin while going up for a rebound in the last minute of the fourth quarter.
Martin immediately went to help Tatum up but was pushed by Boston's Jaylen Brown, with both players awarded technicals. The Miami forward later said the incident was accidental, as he received a slight nudge from Jrue Holiday before crashing into Tatum.
The five-star All-Star was soon back to his feet, though, and he later said getting hit was just part of the game.
"It's playoff basketball, and it's a physical game against a physical team. ***'s going to happen," Tatum said. "It's probably not the last time I'm going to get hit like that in this series.
The Celtics led by as many as 34 points in the fourth quarter, with a late run from the Heat only ever bringing them as close as 14.
Tatum hailed Boston for staying focused throughout, adding: "It's supposed to be tough. In the playoffs no game is easy.
"There are no guaranteed wins regardless of the score, or how much time is left. We just had to respond and we did that."
Miami struggled in the absence of Jimmy Butler, and coach Erik Spoelstra accepted they were second-best, saying: "Boston controlled this game from the tip.
"They won the big muscle areas. They definitely won the 3-point line and the majority of the areas in between."
Elsewhere on Sunday, Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard scored 35 first-half points – a franchise playoff record – as they claimed a 109-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of their own first-round series.
Lillard didn't score after halftime, but his lightning start ensured the Bucks were untroubled despite the absence of two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who missed out with a calf strain.
Milwaukee built a commanding 69-42 lead by the interval and never saw their advantage drop to single digits as Khris Middleton tacked on 23 points – 15 of them in the second half.
Looking ahead to Tuesday's second game, which will also be held at the home of the third-seeded Bucks, Lillard said: "In the playoffs, it's about setting the tone.
"We're going to see this team a lot of times, and you want to establish yourself, especially on your home floor. That was my mentality, to come out and try and set the tone in that way."
Remarking on Lillard's incredible first-half performance, Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said: "He carried us. He was unbelievable."
Over the course of four quarters, Lillard was upstaged by Indiana's Pascal Siakam, who finished with 36 points and 13 rebounds in 40 minutes on the court.
Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle, however, was unable to look beyond their miserable start to the game.
"The first half was embarrassing," Carlisle said. "We have no excuses. We've simply got to come out better. It was ugly, and we all own it."
Conor McGregor to make his long-awaited return to UFC on June 29
Conor McGregor will make his long-awaited return to UFC on June 29 after nearly three years out.
Dana White confirmed that the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion will fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June.
McGregor – who has 22 wins and six UFC defeats – has not competed in the UFC since July 2021 when he sustained a horrific leg break against Dustin Poirier, who he had previously fought and lost to six months earlier.
Speaking about the fight, White said on Saturday that McGregor’s return had been “all about timing”.
“There’s all kinds of things that go on behind the scenes and it’s all about timing. Chandler’s been ready but Conor hasn’t been ready,” White said.
“We talked about this in one of the press conferences recently, he had a lot of obligations that he had to deal with.
“What you don’t want him doing is accepting a fight when he’s got a ton of obligations and he can’t train 100 per cent for a fight, so here we are tonight.”
Vogel slams Suns after 'unacceptable' loss to Spurs
Frank Vogel hit out at the Phoenix Suns for an "unacceptable" defeat to the San Antonio Spurs.
San Antonio were shorn of star player Victor Wembenyama on Monday, yet ran out 104-102 winners over the Suns.
Phoenix have now lost three of their four meetings against the Spurs this season, despite San Antonio having been rooted to the bottom of the Western Conference.
And Vogel did not hold back in criticising his team.
"It's just unacceptable to lose that game," Suns coach Vogel said.
"For our guys, we all said the right things. We all did the right preparation. But we didn't play with the necessary focus in this position throughout, I would say, the first half."
Bradley Beal added: "It's disappointment.
"We came in here and laid an egg. We thought it was going to be easy with no Wemby. Just got our a** kicked.
"They came out aggressive, just like the coach told us they would, and we didn't respond. Well, we did, but we didn't withstand their punches."
Devin Booker says the Suns knew what to expect of the Spurs, but just did not deliver.
"I'm not into disrespecting our opponents," Booker said.
"These guys are NBA guys. There are some talented young players over there. We weren't unprepared. We knew what to expect."
Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell both finished with 26 points for the Spurs.
"I was confident," Sochan said.
"Even at the start, I was asking for the ball, I had my hands up. I felt like a couple of the last games the ball hasn't going in for me from the 3-point line. But no matter what, I believe in myself."
The Suns sit eighth in the West, but are about to embark on what ESPN class as the toughest end to the season in the NBA, but Vogel dismissed those concerns.
"We like our chances against anybody. We don't worry about the schedule," he said.
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