Athletes
Michel Pereira: Guaranteed Excitement
Brazilian Middleweight Discusses Recent Successes, Competing In Rio De Janeiro Ahead Of UFC 301
Energy has never been in short supply when it comes to Michel Pereira. From doing backflips off the scale during ceremonial weigh-ins to bopping his way to the Octagon, the Brazilian standout has always been someone fans can count on to bring the energy whenever he’s set to compete.
But this weekend, those energy supplies could be overflowing as the surging middleweight competes in Rio de Janeiro on the UFC 301 pay-per-view main card against Ihor Potieria.
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“I’m really happy to be fighting in Brazil, particularly fighting in Rio,” Pereira said on Tuesday afternoon in regard to competing in his home nation for the first time as a member of the UFC roster. “People here are very warm, they’re very into the sport, so they’re going to be cheering me on, supporting me on Saturday.
“I imagine that it will be,” he answered when asked about potentially bringing even more energy than normal during his walk to the Octagon this weekend. “I like to fight with a crowd and with the crowds in Brazil, we all know how they get, so yeah, I think we’re gonna have the Fight of the Night against Ihor.”
The suggestion that he and Potieria may share Fight of the Night honors was honestly a little surprising to hear given the way things have transpired so far in Pereira’s first two starts in the middleweight ranks.
After posting five consecutive victories at welterweight to set up a clash with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson last summer, marking his first trip into the Octagon in over a year. Pereira missed weight ahead of the UFC 291 matchup and opted to relocate to the 185-pound weight class after the bout was scrapped, landing opposite streaking TUF alum Andre Petroski in mid-October.
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Always considered big for the welterweight division, Pereira still looked imposing opposite Petroski, and his performance showed that he brought the tools that had helped him craft his extended winning streak at welterweight with him to his new address.
The explosive finisher stormed through Petroski in one minute and six seconds, earning a Performance of the Night bonus for his efforts. Roughly five months later, he was back in the Octagon, running roughshod over Michal Oleksiejczuk on the UFC 299 prelims, needing just 61 seconds to collect his second straight stoppage win at middleweight and another Performance of the Night award.
Michel Pereira | Best Moments
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Michel Pereira | Best Moments
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“I knew I was gonna fight much better, I was gonna have better results, but I didn’t imagine to this magnitude, this way,” Pereira admitted when asked about his impressive results, which pushed his overall winning streak to seven and installed him as a dark horse to watch in the shifting 185-pound weight class heading into this weekend’s action in Rio and the second half of the 2024 campaign.
The move to middleweight is just the latest in a series of adjustments that have all helped bring out the best version of the popular, dynamic talent.
When Pereira first touched down in the UFC, he was a hardcore darling, known to fans for the tumbling routines and unconventional attacks he was happy to throw inside the cage. He showed some of those “chaos agent” tendencies in his debut win over Danny Roberts, but they came to cost him in his sophomore outing against late replacement Tristan Connelly in Vancouver in the fall of 2019.
Five months later, Pereira was well on his way to a victory over Diego Sanchez when he got too aggressive and blasted the OG Ultimate Fighter winner with an illegal knee, resulting in the bout being ruled a disqualification.
Following the setbacks, the athletic and powerful Brazilian started to rein in the wildness, doling it out in small batches rather than it being the signature element of his performances, and he started to find success once again. Fans that embraced him for being a wild man in the Octagon lamented the more “buttoned down” approach, but it was difficult to argue with the results, as Pereira eventually ran his winning streak to five with a split decision win over divisional stalwart Santiago Ponzinibbio.
Along the way, he moved to Las Vegas, setting up shop at Xtreme Couture and reaping the benefits of working with the team at the UFC Performance Institute. Moving to middleweight now feels like it may have been the final piece of the puzzle.
Saturday's Full Fight Card Preview
“Living in Vegas right now has been great,” said Pereira, who was initially scheduled to fight Makhmud Muradov this weekend before the veteran was forced to withdraw and replaced by Potieria, who enters off a solid effort against Robert Bryczek in February, albeit one where he missed weight. “I have a great team at Xtreme Couture, I have the whole support team at the PI, I have a lot of material to work with, a lot of training partners. Everything is really great for me right now in Las Vegas.
“I feel much better; much stronger, much more powerful,” he added regarding the shift in divisions. “I’m training better, I’m living better, I’m performing better. Everything has been better in this division.”
After being on the sidelines from May 2022 until his fight with Petroski last October, this weekend’s contest in Rio de Janeiro will be Pereira’s third in seven months, and second in eight weeks, which is another positive product of his shift up a weight class.
“I always tell (UFC matchmaker) Mick (Maynard) that I’ll be ready whenever he needs me, just call me up,” offered Pereira, confirming that he’s willing and able to be more active now that he’s no longer competing at welterweight. “So I will be ready whenever they need me.”
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Should he get through Potieria on Saturday and that call to return come, Pereira believes his next opponent is likely to be someone carrying a number next to their name, which is exactly what he’s seeking.
“I think they’re gonna give me an opportunity to fight a ranked opponent, and that’s what I’m here for,” he said when asked about what may come next. “I’m here to get ranked and to become the champion, so I think after a win now, they’re going to give me an opportunity to be ranked as well.”
While he may be invigorated by the energy in Rio before and during his fight this weekend, once he’s done handling his business inside the Octagon at UFC 301, Pereira won’t be sticking around Rio to celebrate — he’ll be heading to his home state of Para instead.
“I’m not gonna be able to celebrate in Rio — I’m gonna go to Southern Para, the state that I’m from. There is going to be a big horse event down there, and I need to go over there, so that’s where I’m going after the fight.”
Wherever he ends up, you can be sure excitement and electricity will follow.
That’s just what happens when Michel Pereira is involved.
UFC 301: Pantoja vs Erceg took place live from Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on May 4, 2024. See the Final Prelim and Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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