Fans booed Michel Pereira out of the arena at UFC Kansas City for a completely uncharacteristic performance.
The UFC returned to Kansas City for the first time in two years this Saturday with a blockbuster Fight Night card headlined by Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates.
Also on the main card was middleweight fan favorite, Michel Pereira, who took on Abus Magomedov in a big fight at 185lbs.
Pereira is one of the more exciting fighters in the sport, with an extremely bizarre fight style, but that also comes with its risks, as he teeters close to disqualification quite often.
After being destroyed by Anthony Hernandez in a main event last time out, the Brazilian was hopeful of returning to the win column and putting a stop to Magomedov’s impressive three-fight win streak.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
Known for being extremely eccentric, Pereira started off the night with a choreographed dance routine during his walkout, which didn’t exactly go down well with the fans.
And after expending energy during his walkout, the Brazilian striker began the fight extremely slowly compared to his usual antics.
Just a few minutes into the first round, the German had already landed a few heavy shots on the striker, one of which being a big left hook which momentarily dropped him.
Magomedov then mixed in his grappling threat by scoring a takedown as Pereira backed up towards the cage, subsequently looking for a submission whilst riding the Brazilian’s back.
Again in round two, the fan-favorite striker started off uncharacteristically slow, hardly throwing at Magomedov, who just landed shots on him at ease. With just over a minute left of round two, the fans in attendance at UFC Kansas City began booing, as neither fighter looked to particularly land any fight-ending sequences.
In the final round, though, Pereira seemed to speed up his approach, likely realizing he was already two rounds down after an extremely passive 10 minutes.
Despite conserving all of his energy for the final five minutes, though, Pereira still couldn’t land anything of note as Magomedov continued to be the one landing the noteworthy strikes, wobbling him with just over a minute and a half left of the round.
Magomedov went on to score the unanimous decision win, moving him to four wins in a row and even closer to the middleweight rankings.
After dancing his way out from the back and subsequently putting on a performance that led to fans booing him out of the arena, it is fair to say Pereira’s UFC career now hangs in the balance.
The 31-year-old is now on a two-fight losing streak, meaning a loss in his next outing could mark the end of his time in the premier promotion.
His German counterpart, on the other hand, has showcased that he is once again likely ready to compete against a top 15 185lber, after being fast-tracked to a fight against Sean Strickland in just his second UFC fight.
Abus MagomedovMichel PereiraMiddleweightUFCUFC Kansas City
