Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Michael Pereira is coming for the UFC BMF title.
Michael Pereira thinks he should be next in line for a BMF title shot following his third-round submission win over Zelim Imadaev at UFC Vegas 9 on Saturday.
The eccentric welterweight wasted no time in calling out the ‘baddest motherfu-ker’ in the UFC, Jorge Masvidal, in his post-fight interview.
“Dana White, Sean Shelby. I want the BMF belt. Jorge Masvidal, beware. You are next!” Pereira said backstage at the UFC APEX center.
“I want the BMF belt. Jorge Masvidal, beware, you are next!”@UFCPereira makes an interesting callout ? #UFCVegas9 pic.twitter.com/xGPnG24aIO
— UFC (@ufc) September 6, 2020
“I want to fight the best,” Pereira added (h/t Danny Segura and Ken Hathaway of MMA Junkie). “I train very hard to do that and I train with some of the best. I want to fight the best and Jorge Masvidal is one of them. He’s a guy that I want to fight against. I think people would find it to be a great fight, a big fight, and it would give a show to all the UFC fans and the world.”
Pereira, who slapped Imadaev multiple times before submitting the Russian with a rear-naked choke, said he wouldn’t think twice about doing the same thing to Masvidal if ‘Gamebred’ acted disrespectful towards him in the pre-fight buildup.
“If he disrespects me, yeah,” Pereira said. “I want to fight with him and do a great fight, and with that, the fans of the UFC and MMA – they would enjoy a great show and a great fight. I want to fight him.”
Pereira (24-11-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) is not currently ranked at welterweight. Masvidal (35-14) is reportedly lined up for a rematch with Nate Diaz in January.