Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
This past weekend at UFC Fight Night 158 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) newcomer, Tristan Connelly, took on Michel Pereira in what was a short-notice fight for the Canadian fighting in his hometown.
Naturally, most expected Michel to get the victory over the UFC rookie given the short amount of time he had to prepare for his Octagon debut. But Connelly wasn’t about to roll over, as he took it to the Brazilian bomber, defeating him via unanimous decision.
But it was Pereira’s over-the top theatrics that was the buzz during and after the fight, as the Brazilian was doing back-flips, cartwheels, “Showtime” kicks and flying knees, all within the first 20 seconds of the contest. In the end, however, Michel simply didn’t have the cardio and pace to keep up with Connelly, who took advantage and worked him over to get the nod.
But according to “Demolidor,” his gymnastics routine had nothing to do with him gassing out, as his tough weight cut was the real culprit. Furthermore, instead of criticizing him for his showmanship, people need to be more supportive since he’s at least trying to entertain as opposed to just laying and praying.
“Guys, many bad things happened. I got tired but not because of the things I did, but for the huge weight cut I had. I cut 17.5kg (38.5 pounds) by myself, with no on else (to help), and dealing with the stress of helping with my cornerman’s visa who wasn’t there. Everyone else had someone to help, I was alone there. It’s not an excuse, but I know I’m a fighter that grows as rounds goes by, but I got tired since my body shut down in the beginning of the second round.
“I fight for you guys, to put on a show or you. Let’s support more and criticize less. I fight this way to make UFC more fun. Fighters today only think about winning and put on boring fights, and that’s why MMA is decreasing so much. I want to make my fans happy by watching my fights, but this time things happened and led to my defeat. I lost to myself. I will be back to do it even better. You’ll see I have cardio to fight three rounds no problem.”
Indeed, Michel failed to make weight for the 170-pound fight, coming in two pounds heavy, forcing him to fork over 20-percent of his fight purse to Tristan. Speaking of weigh-ins, Michel back-flipped off the scale (see it here), as well.
In the end, though, none of his extra curricular activities — which included a choreographed set during his walk, and a break-dance routine during his intro — aided him in getting a “W.” But by the sound of it, Pereira isn’t going to stop his showmanship just because of the setback.
Furthermore, coming in heavy didn’t just cost Michel his cardio and the fight, it also cost him a $50,000 bonus check for “Fight of the Night,” as it went to Connelly as punishment for not making weight.