Michel Pereira dominatedZelim Imadaev with some of the most in-your-face skills you'll see all year.- Pereira, a welterweight, danced in the Octagon, bounced off the fence, and smacked Imadaev from unconventional positions, before submitting him in the third round.
- The Brazilian then sent a message to the
UFC boss Dana White to say he wanted a shot at the "Baddest Mother-F-----" championship, which Jorge Masvidal holds. - Watch the extraordinary highlights below.
A Brazilian dominated his UFC opponent with one of the flashiest, most in-your-face, and showboating performances you'll see all year.
Michel Pereira combined gymnastics, acrobatics, and athletics to form an unconventional fighting style Saturday at the UFC Apex, to annihilate Zelim Imadaev at the behind-closed-doors UFC Vegas 9 event.
The official result was a third-round rear-naked choke submission for Pereira, but that does not tell the story of what the winner was doing en route to his finish.
Pereira blew a kiss at Imadaev, then slapped him, danced in the Octagon mid-fight, and used the cage fence to throw a showtime kick and a superman punch at the bewildered Russian.
Watch some of the chaos here:
—UFC (@ufc) September 6, 2020
Here:
—UFC (@ufc) September 6, 2020
And the chokehold finish here:
—ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 6, 2020
Pereira competes in the welterweight division and was given a $50,000 bonus for his performance.
Following the win, which advanced his record to 24 wins (10 knockouts, seven submissions, six decisions, and one unknown) against 11 losses, Pereira issued a challenge to Jorge Masvidal — the incumbent champion of the inaugural "Baddest Mother-F-----" title.
"[UFC president] Dana White, [UFC matchmaker] Sean Shelby, I want the BMF belt," said Pereira to ESPN.
"Jorge Masvidal, be ready; you are next. Woo!"
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