Michel Periera: ‘I trained at a farm with animals’

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC

The high flying Brazilian welterweight threw some unorthodox training into the mix for his upcoming bout with Zelim Imadaev.

Michel Pereira is an unconventional dude. ‘Demolidor’ as the 27-year-old Brazilian is known, has quickly built a reputation in the UFC for his wild in-cage antics, dangerous power, and unfortunate tendency to self destruct in fights. Whether it’s poor cardio, or a terribly mistimed knee to Diego Sanchez’s head, his two bouts following his Octagon debut have suggested he needs to make some changes.

But never fear, Pereira is hardly the kind of fighter to get stuck in a rut, or settle into a grind. During a recent pre-fight media scrum for his upcoming bout against Zelim Imadaev at UFC Vegas 9, Pereira revealed just what he’s been doing different to get ready for his next opponent. Apparently it involves working with a whole new group/genus/species of training partners.

“I train new things every time,” Pereira said told reporters (transcript via the Score). “I try to get to know different strategies and different games. For this event in particular, I trained at a farm with animals. So I was running around with animals. I always try to train in different places and get to know different things, so every time I step in the Octagon, I can bring something new and put on a show.”

“I trained with cows and working on taking them down and running with horses. I had different experiences with different animals and just tried to work on different strategies.”

Pereira added a photo of himself living the ranch-hand lifestyle to his Instagram account, and even uploaded a video he took via drone of one of his fellow cowboys roping a steer.

The results of his new regimen will be there for all to see in the Octagon on Saturday night. But, so far, Imadaev doesn’t seem very cowed by Pereira’s new brand of MMA prep.