Late takedowns helped Michel Pereira secure a unanimous decision victory over Khaos Williams at UFC Vegas 17.
In what was expected to be the best fight of the night, Khaos Williams matched up with Michel Pereira at UFC Vegas 17. Pereira is coming off a submission that improved his UFC record to 2-2, while Williams had two knockouts in under 30 seconds each in his first two appearances in the promotion.
Williams started the fight with a distance-finding leg kick and after a feeling-out process, Pereira landed a front kick to the body. Soon after that, Khaos caught a front kick and landed a two-punch combination off of it. Striking output began picking up, with both men firing big kicks. There was a brief clinch exchange after Pereira came inside, but Pereira pushed away. Khaos caught another front kick and fired another two big hooks that caught the Brazlian. He caught yet another and countered with a haymaker of a right hand. Pereira got inside to land a shot up top but again, had a front kick caught and ate another right hand as punishment. Pereira ended the round by flying in the air, but did not land anything due to a leg kick from Khaos.
Williams began the second round with a few hooks that were deflected and allowed Pereira to dance around the outside of the Octagon. A straight right landed for Pereira and Khaos flew in with a combination and got a hold of Pereira to push him against the cage. After they separated, Khaos landed a slick combination of big hooks. Pereira came back with a few switch-stance jabs. They then exchanged jabs and Pereira was finally able to land his front kick and it seemed to sting Khaos. Khaos then blitzed in and landed a flurry of shots to push Pereira against the cage. Pereira reversed position and Khaos broke free. With little time left, Pereira forced a clinch exchange and nearly secured a standing rear-naked choke, but time expired in the second round.
Watch out for that Khaos blitz! ⚡️ #UFCVegas17 pic.twitter.com/miIaXwEWrq
— UFC (@ufc) December 20, 2020
Khaos blitzed in but missed with his strikes to start the final round. A strong jab landed for Pereira and Khaos answered with a few leg kicks. Pereira began getting acrobatic in the final round, utilizing the unorthodox techniques he’s known for like a donkey kick that caught air. Khaos stayed steady and landed a hard combination to the body then one up top. Pereira then changed levels and landed a double-leg takedown with 90 seconds remaining in the fight. Khaos scrambled out to his feet in about 20 seconds and got off the cage. Pereira came flying in and Khaos countered with a hook. A front kick to the chin landed for Pereira, eating a shot on the way back. He then landed another takedown and held Khaos down for the remainder of the fight.
After the fight, Pereira called out Anthony Pettis, who defeated Alex Morono earlier at the event.
Michel Pereira def. Khaos Williams by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)
