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When Alex Pereira came into New York’s Madison Square Garden for the main event of UFC 281, he did so as a bit of a novelty. He was “that kickboxing guy who beat Israel Adesanya twice,” sent here to balance a competitive equation. But this was MMA, and Adesanya was the middleweight champion of the world.

When Pereira departed the Garden a few hours later, he did so as the UFC’s new middleweight champion.

Pereira’s gas tank held up under Adesanya’s clinch-control strategy, as the Brazilian came back in a bout he was losing on the scorecards to notch a TKO stoppage at 2:01 of the fifth and final round.

“It was a hard fight, but I go through hard fights every day at the gym,” Pereira told UFC broadcaster and podcaster Joe Rogan through a translator in the cage after the fight. “For everybody who said I couldn’t do five rounds, look at what I just did right now. I’m ready for whoever’s next.”

It was rather surreal to watch UFC president Dana White slip the middleweight title around the waist of a man most viewers had probably never laid eyes on before Saturday. This was only Pereira’s fifth fight in pro MMA and fourth under the UFC banner.

We all knew why he was here: because he held two wins over Adesanya in the kickboxing world, where Pereira is a decorated champion. (He departed kickboxing in 2021 with a record of 33-7 with 21 knockouts.) Never mind that neither of his wins over Adesanya was particularly dominant. Never mind that for all his kickboxing dominance, as a 35-year-old specialist, his MMA prospects were fair-to-middling. Pereira was a fresh foil for Adesanya, the talented and charismatic champion who was running out of challengers in the thin 185-pound division.

The matchup was full of stylistic intrigue. Pereira is a relentless knockout seeker, Adesanya the learning-computer counter fighter. Pereira has precious little MMA experience and hasn’t shown a lot of success to date on the ground. Did Adesanya have the wrestling or the desire to take advantage?

Round 1 had some solid moments for both men, but the offense didn’t come until the literal last second. As the clock reached just one second, a big straight right from Adesanya landed just behind Pereira’s ear. Then, a left hook landed across Pereira’s jaw and wobbled the challenger just after the horn sounded. (It was deemed a legal blow because Adesanya began the strike motion before the horn.)

Round 2 saw both men score off their jabs. Man, Pereira hits hard, and he made a few left hands count down the stretch. Interestingly, Adesanya tried for two takedowns but couldn’t land either one. But then in the final seconds, Pereira likely sealed the round for himself by grabbing his own takedown—not the kind of technique you’d see in the Olympics, but it counted.

Round 3 saw Adesanya finally land his first career takedown. Although there were some nice shots from both men, the signature of this round was the champ’s control in the grappling phase, which together amounted to nearly 3:50 of control time, per UFC stats. It also contained the lowest striking output of the fight, in which just 20 significant strikes landed between them.

Round 4 saw Adesanya try to wear down Pereira with clinch time, but both men remained frisky in the championship rounds. Adesanya likely took the round on output, outlanding Pereira 20-15 and adding more than a minute of control time.

The final stanza saw Pereira come out with aggression. The fateful sequence began about halfway through the round. Having backed the champ against the fence, Pereira connected on a stinging jab and followed it with a brisk right hand. An uppercut followed, and Adesanya began to retreat. Pereira gave chase and walloped the champ with a left hook, then another uppercut, and after that Adesanya was on his skates in earnest. Another flurry and Adesanya tumbled to the ground, only to quickly pop back to his feet. The barrage continued, and although Adesanya kept his feet, it was clear he was in dire straits. Referee Marc Goddard stepped in to call the TKO. Adesanya protested, but by all appearances Goddard was well within his rights to stop it.

So what’s next? Is a rematch a fait accompli? It will probably happen at some point, especially in a shallow division like middleweight, but it doesn’t need to be right away. Let’s see what Pereira can do against someone like Robert Whittaker. Why not let this breathe a bit?

That said, if you have to bet on an outcome here, bet on the rematch. No need to risk taking away all the heat of this rivalry with a Pereira loss to Marvin Vettori. Early indications are the UFC may be receptive to a rematch.

As that sorts itself out, Adesanya remains one of the greatest middleweights to ever do it, but for now he’s living with a pretty big blemish on his record. Then again, every Superman has his kryptonite. Adesanya just learned his kryptonite can’t be so easily disposed of.

Dustin Poirier picked up yet another incredible victory at UFC 281 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, but his future in the jam-packed lightweight division is uncertain to say the least.

The Louisiana native, ranked No. 2 at 155 pounds, was back in action on the event's main card, taking on former Bellator champ and No. 5-ranked contender Michael Chandler.

The matchup was hailed as a potential Fight of the Year contender from the moment it was announced, and it lived up to those expectations from the opening bell to the moment Poirier ended it with a rear-naked choke in Round 3.

Chandler, who is known for his fight-ending punching power and tremendous wrestling skill, came out guns blazing, and he was finding Poirier's chin within the first minute of the first round.

After he completed a takedown, it looked as though he could be on his way to a first-round win over one of the division's best fighters, but then Poirier turned things around, exploding back to his feet and nearly scoring a knockout of his own in the waning moments of the round.

"He was a little bit more durable than I thought he would be," Poirier told commentator Joe Rogan after the win. "I had him hurt, then I landed a little bit more after I thought I hurt him, and he was still there."

There was good reason to be concerned for Chandler as Round 2 began. A minute simply isn't long enough to recover from the punishment he took at the end of Round 1. Yet flaunting some serious veteran savvy, the former Bellator champ quickly turned to his ground game and dragged Poirier to the mat, where he collected several minutes of control time.

By the time the second round was over, it was clear that Poirier needed a big third round to win the fight. He had clearly lost the second, and the first was close.

He did what he needed to do.

After reversing a Chandler takedown attempt, Poirier began searching for the rear-naked choke, and after a short struggle, he locked it up. Chandler had no choice but to tap, with blood sputtering from his nose and mouth.

"I thought if I hurt him, I was going to put him away," he said. "Who ain't got jiu-jitsu?"

The win cemented Poirier as one of the sport's greatest lightweights. Unfortunately, he has almost no hope of getting another crack at the division's title at this stage.

The first problem is that new champion Islam Makhachev is officially occupied with another challenge: Earlier on Saturday, it was announced that he'll defend his belt against featherweight champ and pound-for-pound king Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284 in 2023.

The other problem is that, for all his skill, Poirier will be tough to sell as a legitimate threat to Makhachev. Not only does the champion have the grappling to drown just about anybody, but he just dominated Charles Oliveira, who submitted Poirier in a title fight less than a year ago.

Things look even bleaker for Chandler after UFC 281. While the former Bellator king shares Poirier's reputation as one of the most exciting fighters in the game, he is now 2-3 in the UFC, with his lone wins coming against hot-and-cold veterans in Dan Hooker and Tony Ferguson.

He's good too—there's no question—but at this point, he is just not a credible threat to the title. Particularly with a juggernaut with Makhachev on the throne.

The implication here is that both Poirier and Chandler will probably be forced to focus on non-title fights for the time being. And at 33 and 36, respectively, that’s probably not what either guy has in mind.

The good news—and it is good news—is that, at this point, it's clear that there are no bad fights for either guy. No matter who you match them up with, they will entertain.

So, while Poirier likely won't be getting any calls to fight the Makhachev-Volkanovski winner, he might receive offers for rematches with the likes of Justin Gaethje or Conor McGregor. He'd also make a good opponent for streaking contender Beneil Dariush, who was left high and dry by Volkanovski's lightweight title shot. The list goes on and on and on.

The options are no fewer for Chandler. A rematch with Gaethje, who he lost to in a 2021 Fight of the Year contender, will always make sense, while a fight with a rising contender like Rafael Fiziev or a veteran like Rafael dos Anjos could also be fun. Chandler could also win the Conor McGregor sweepstakes, having made loose fight plans with the Irish superstar in the past.

One way or the other, it's clear that while Poirier's and Chandler's days as title challengers may be over, they both have options ahead should they choose to continue fighting.

And after their UFC 281 classic, just about everybody will be hoping they both continue fighting for a long time.