The Highlight Reel: Michel Pereira’s Craziest Moves From UFC Vegas 9

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

If you didn’t catch Michel Pereira’s wild performance against Zelim Imadaev, you have to see it. If you’ve seen it, you need to watch it again!

Michel Pereira came into the UFC with a lot of hype as a crazy unorthodox striker who wasn’t afraid to throw a backflip off the cage into the mix if the opportunity presented itself. That wild style served him well in his UFC debut when one of his big flying knees connected, knocking Danny Roberts unconscious under two minutes into their fight. But a ridiculous early performance led to an empty gas tank later on against Tristan Connelly, costing him a decision loss. And then a sloppy illegal knee against Diego Sanchez earned him a DQ loss, setting him at 1-2 in the UFC.

With his fourth UFC fight against Zelim Imadaev being the last on his UFC contract, Pereira needed to prove he could convert his flash into wins at a major league level. With a few tweaks that saw a more conservative but still crazy performance, “Demolidor” showed he was definitely UFC caliber. He dismantled Imadaev across three rounds, finishing the fight in the final seconds of the bout by snatching a rear naked choke out of nowhere and earning a $50,000 performance bonus.

But enough text. To see Michel Pereira is to believe, so let’s get right into a collection of all the moments from his UFC Vegas 9 fight that have MMA fans hyped beyond belief.

You like “Showtime” cage biz? Here’s Pereira landing an effortless Showtime kick and then going full McGregor, putting his hands behind his back for several seconds.

He also pulled off a “Showtime” cage jump Superman punch, followed up by a violent volley of knees. This clip also gives you a good look at his movement, which kept him effortlessly out of Imadaev’s range.

At the end of the first round, “Demolidor” seemed to take the final seconds off to do a little dance, only to spring back to action and blitz Imadaev. The two ended up in an intense staredown following the horn that required extra staff to separate them.

The moment most people are talking about is Pereira’s take on the Stockton Slap, which we are now dubbing the Pereira Palm.

Here’s the finish, which is still pretty impressive despite the fact that it was clearly a botched stoppage on the ref’s part. Pereira manages to suplex Imadaev, but rather than leaving it at that pulls a lightning fast scramble onto his opponent’s back to take a rear naked choke. Perfection.

And a callout of Jorge Masvidal? This guy knows where the money and entertainment’s at.

So what do you think, Maniacs? How far do you think Michel Pereira can go?