The Octagon’s return on Saturday night features a fighter who is known for producing some incredible highlights.
UFC Shanghai has the potential to produce some big knockouts on August 23.
There aren’t many people that are expecting the main event between Johnny Walker and Zhang Mingyang to require the judges.
With feared Russian heavyweight knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich also on the main card, there is some serious firepower just hours away from stepping inside the Octagon.
However, it’s on the prelim card where a fighter that could have been described as a human highlight reel when he first arrived in the promotion will look to record a bounce back win.
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Michel Pereira produced a stunning UFC debut by knocking out Danny Roberts
With an extensive record already under his belt by the time he made his UFC debut, Michel Pereira had built up quite a reputation.
The Brazilian powerhouse was known for his unconventional and incredibly difficult to predict striking offense that immediately caught the eye.
While there were a lot of fans who were excited to see him compete inside the Octagon, the big question was whether his flamboyant fighting style would work against UFC caliber opponents.
His debut took place in May of 2019 where he faced UFC welterweight veteran Danny Roberts at a Fight Night event in Rochester, New York.
It didn’t take long for Pereira to start looking for his wild techniques as he showed by running up the side of the Octagon or attempting a rolling thunder inside the opening minute.
The entertainment continued with some more unorthodox movement before a big jumping knee landed, which the Brazilian quickly followed up with a straight right hand to finish his opponent inside two minutes with no follow-ups required.
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Michel Pereira claimed that he wanted to be the UFC’s ‘biggest showman’
In an interview with MMA Fighting after earning his first UFC win, Michel Pereira spoke about wanting to compete against the biggest names in the sport.
He named the likes of Israel Adesanya and Conor McGregor as dream opponents because he wanted to prove that he was “the biggest showman in the UFC”.
His momentum took a huge hit after suffering back-to-back losses after his debut win, though he bounced back from this with a very impressive eight-fight win streak.
Now, he finds himself coming off of consecutive defeats for the second time in his UFC career, which he will look to end when he returns to face Kyle Daukaus at UFC Shanghai.