Preview: UFC Fight Night 176 ‘Overeem vs. Sakai’

Welterweights

Michel Pereira (23-11) vs. Zelim Imadaev (8-2)

ODDS: Pereira (-115), Imadaev (-105)

Pereira might be the most entertaining fighter on the UFC roster, and the hope is that he wins enough fights for things to stay that way. The Brazilian is a spring-loaded ball of pure muscle and makes no bones about his intent of putting on a show first and foremost. Words cannot really do his style justice, as it involves leaping punches off the cage, cartwheels and other flashy techniques that simply are not supposed to work during a mixed martial arts fight. That has still held true to some extent, as Pereira has lost a lot more on the regional scene than his abilities would suggest, but he has still managed to put together an excellent highlight reel, including a showcase win over Danny Roberts in his UFC debut. However, things have not been nearly as sanguine since. Pereira memorably gassed and gave up a shocking upset to late replacement Tristan Connelly, and a fight against a surprisingly cautious Diego Sanchez essentially went nowhere until Pereira got disqualified for an illegal knee. “Demolidor” looks to turn his ship around against Russia’s Imadaev, an interesting but raw prospect. Imadaev spent his pre-UFC career quickly knocking out overmatched opponents, so he has essentially had to learn on the job during his two fights in the UFC. To that end, he has been promising, showing some toughness and some decent wrestling to go along with his knockout power. However, it has not turned into much success, as he lost his UFC debut to Max Griffin and got knocked out by Roberts in November. If Imadaev can survive the first round, he should be able to take over once Pereira exhausts himself, but his aggressive approach means he is likely to play the Brazilian’s game early on. It still falls on Pereira to hit whatever wild shot he needs in order to score the knockout. Given that he will at least get the opportunities, the pick is Pereira via first-round knockout.

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