Michel Pereira brought his creative form of carnage to the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO on Saturday, taking on Abus Magomedov at UFC Kansas City.
At least, that’s what fans were expecting, though the bout did not play out as expected to say the least.
The middleweight fight found “Demolidor” looking to bounce back from a loss to Anthony Hernandez, a setback that had snapped an eight-fight win streak. Known for his flashy attacks, however, a more reserved – too much so – Pereira showed up on Saturday.
It was Magomedov looking more active early, connecting with a left hand and a head kick that Michel Pereira ate. The Dagestani-born German was swinging wild, but also managed to punch his way into a takedown at the midway mark of the round, simply swarming Pereira. Abus next scaled the back, but slipped off before he could get a body triangle in place. Still, he was in the driver’s seat in a one-sided opening frame.
After an uncharacteristically slow start in the opening round, Michael Pereira was fighting to even things up in the second. He was still on the back foot, however, circling outside and backing away from Magomedov’s attacks. The pair exchanged probing front kicks, and Pereira fired a knee as Magomedov changed levels. The Brazilian was able to fight off the takedown attempt and reverse; they’d move back to center moments later. Pereira was still fighting tentatively, and the lack of action brought out an entire flock of boo-birds with about 90 seconds left in the round two.
If Michel Pereira was going to come alive, and have a chance at winning the fight, he’d have to make something happen in the third. Yet Pereira still failed to pull the trigger more often than not, leading to fans in Kansas City erupting in an Atlanta Braves-style “chop” chant. Pereira remained gun-shy to the final bell, and it was no surprise to see Abus Magomedov, who did have “Demolidor” in trouble once or twice, taking a unanimous decision win with triplicate 30-27 scores. Really, there was no other possible outcome.
Official Result: Abus Magomedov def. Michel Pereira by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
