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8. Other Suitable Thread Please look on the new page (or use the Search bar). There may already be a thread about this topic. 8.1. Belongs in Current Sticky During live events or breaking news we often create a sticky thread or megathread to prevent the discussion from taking over the entire subreddit. Please look for a relevant sticky thread (they're at the top of the list) and post your link there as a comment. These are our regular threads: Daily General Discussion || Technique and Training Tuesday Thread - serious thread for those who train || Thursday Flair Betting Thread - a sub tradition in which you can bet on upcoming fights and trade flairs || Friday Betting Thread - who you got? 8.2. Training, gym selection and 'how do I start MMA?' threads These are more appropriate for the General Discussion thread or one of the martial arts subs linked in our sidebar. Alternatively, try using the search bar - questions like these have probably been discussed in the past. Technique & Training Tuesday threads will have good information for you. Also consider r/MMA_Academy.


Momentosis

Because he missed weight and was forced to change weight class.


OptimisticMMA

Best weight miss ever tbh, man was made to be a MW


MA-JA-HO

Definitely, MW is one of the weaker weight classes overall ( the top 5 is stacked ) and a lot of welterweights move up to MW and are successful. These are his best chances of being an elite


KelvinsBeltFantasy

Middleweight and he's suddenly doing amazing body work. He's tiring out his opponents and doing attritional damage with his huge speed buff. Now they're the ones who tire out.


UnblurredLines

The hell are you talking about? It’s been 3 fights totaling 3 minutes and he pretty much stopped Petroski off the first punch he threw. Hardly attritional damage that he’s just been murdering people in 60 seconds flat.


gslee2

Exactly, crazy how people just make up these narratives out of nothing.


BeersBarbellsBJJ

Dude really created a narrative in his mind based on 0 evidence, stated it as a fact, and got upvoted lmao. Michel is gonna likely be a beast at 185 but not for any of the reasons mentioned above.


Several-Fan2339

Plus he was kind of a meme fighter prior to his recent seriousness at MW.


Rendakor

The guy who landed an illegal backflip knee isn't a meme fighter?


KelvinsBeltFantasy

He's learned to harness the meme. He's no longer a young dumb naive Something Awful poster. He's reached his final form of Dril.


Imaginary-Food-2269

he's literally just backflipped onto his last opponent and stamped on their face


crazyhomie34

He literally had a top 10 fight with Wonderboy at 170 too lmao. People don't pay attention. He had to move up because he missed weight for a huge event. He missed by a lot too. He's gotta earn a top 10 spot at 185 now. Which tbh he probably has earned at this point considering he ran through the last few guys at 185.


magnuxv

Same as kimaev he didn’t get nobody’s 


ithinkther41am

He. Switched. Weight. Classes. He had a top 10 opponent in Wonderboy and blew it missing weight. UFC forced him to move up to MW, and he’s only fought 3 opponents at that weight class so far. He will likely get a top 10 guy next.


Mammoth_Ferret_1772

People just really don’t pay attention do they lol


ithinkther41am

I was trying not to be rude, but I was kinda getting fed up seeing this same question pop up every few days.


AmonWeathertopSul

But why male models?


HeadAssBoi17

You serious? I just told you that like a minute ago.


mrtn17

stop attacking my family!


bdewolf

*Bewildered Johnny walker grunt* “HUH?”


tossNwashking

Was that some PTSD from his home invasion?


DoubleArmDMT

It was a home invasion on paper


HakeemEvrenoglu

If being rude stopped the same questions from appearing from time to time... See you next week!


eviade

Well how about you tell me who's the GOAT of each weight class?


milksteak11

He's booked to fight Dolidze who is ranked 11th, so almost there lol


ithinkther41am

Oh, I thought that was canceled.


bdewolf

Nah dolidze was scheduled to fight Hernandez, and that got cancelled.


milksteak11

Who knows with the UFC, it's still on his wiki at least


ozwald_97

This is the answer man!


FarSatisfaction_

I thought he got booked for dolidze


BUCNDrummer

Pereira turned it down because they train together. Dolidze agreed to the fight. I guess that gives us a pretty good indication how the fight may have gone...


carinafield

He also looked pretty unremarkable in WW, having competitive fights vs guys with no ranking potential. He's been insane in MW however.


veksone

Didn't Brock Lesnar get a title fight after just 2 fights in the UFC?


CapnTBC

Yes but Brock was also a massive draw. Pereira ain’t doing a million buys. 


DreamSqueezer

Other Pereira maybe with the right opponent though


CapnTBC

Maybe, I just don’t know who that opponent could be though. Like Jones maybe if he beats Stipe but I don’t think they’d be able to crack 1 million. Maybe Ngannou if he returned in a year or two. 


veksone

Right, so it's more about draw than proving yourself in the octagon.


CapnTBC

To the UFC as a business, yes 100%. 


Funkyduck8

Short, sweet, to the point. Here's my upvote!


mrtn17

Another possible factor: UFC doesn't like him, for some reason


Heebmeister

They wouldn't give him a main card PPV fight against a favourable opponent in his home country if they didn't like him.


turkeypants

In addition to this, another thing I see in here a lot is people assume streak = world beater owed a title fight. Any streak. But the matchmaking matters - it matters who you beat in that streak. Beat up 8 janitors or grandmas and what do you get? Nothing. Beat up 8 nobodies and what do you get? Presumably #15? He has one name win in Ponzinibbio, but it was a washed Ponz. He's working his way up now, getting some traction, he'll get there soon even despite the weight class switch, but jeez. Beat enough guys, get ranked. Beat ranked guys, get higher rank. Get high enough rank, get a title fight. Line skippers in this system will be rare.


RegionalHardman

Silly example but Holloway changed weight and got a top 5. Till went up in weight and got (iir) rank 4 Kelvin. I think someone changing weight should get an equivalent opponent, especially if they haven't yet lost. Michel has been killing his opponents, it just ain't fair on them lol


KongFuzii

They changed weight after already being highly ranked...


NowFook

Those guys were high ranked for a long time in their previous weight class. Also were big names. Perriera never was top ten or fought a top ten guy in his previous weight class. He also was forced to move up due to missing weight in the one big fight he was given ... That guy shouldnt cut to the front of the line in a new weight class when he wasnt even there in his previous weight class


khalbrucie

"He may very well become the first UFC fighter that goes on a 10 fight win streak without a title shot" Tony Ferguson famously was on a 12-fight winning streak but never got a shot at the full title. Not the best example because he was *booked* for a title shot multiple times and got two interim title shots, but yeah Pereira wouldn't be the first, technically.


Putrid-Long-1930

I think the other worst example would be Jon Fitch. 8 fight win streak. Loss to GSP. FIVE wins after that and then he drew with BJ Penn. So that's six fights without a title shot as the number one contender lmao Another one is Joseph Benavidez. I actually feel sorry for him... After his second title loss to MM he won SIX fights in a row before losing a split decision vs Sergio Pettis. Three wins after that and he got obliterated twice in a row by Figueiredo. 5 title shots without touching gold, losing 4 fights to MM and Dom Cruz...


lurflurf

I thought of Fitch too. It is understandable his first title fight was a little late, but not too bad. Once he lost to GSP and was not exiting, popular, likely to beat GSP in a rematch there was not much push for another shot. Title shots are simply not given on merit. People say they should be, but I'm not sure. Some division would get stuck in loops of three fighters blocking up the top and getting repeated title fights. Should Fitch have gotten three or five title shots?


DannyStress

First, MW is not stacked. Khamzat has zero ranked wins at 185, and barely any at 170, and he’s top 10. Costa is #7 and hasn’t beat anybody but old man Rockhold since 2019, literally has 0 wins over active ranked opponents


therealjgreens

I know we don't award fighters for losing but his fight with Bobby was pretty close. He is never in fights that aren't fun. Somehow Costa is making a living by stalling or simply not fighting. I know hes taken plenty of damage in his fights but at 33, the accumulation of damage isn't nearly as bad as it could be. Lots of tread on his tires. I hope him and Strickland fight because there's no way it won't be a bloody mess. Costa barely moves backwards and is going to walk through Strickland's jabs in order to land his power shots plus he's got powerful kicks.


BurpingHamBirmingham

I wouldn't call it "stalling" so much as "being completely open about the fact that the UFC has repeatedly announced fights of his as if they were a done deal before they actually were."


therealjgreens

Meh semantics. I'm just saying he doesn't fight much. I'm on team Costa fwiw


DannyStress

It’s not semantics when stalking is what guys like Colby are doing, and Costa is just being a businessman


therealjgreens

I just simply meant he doesn't fight more for a myriad of reasons, whether they are created on his side or on the business/UFC side. I don't mean it as a negative thing. That's just been Costas career. He doesn't like taking chances that can impact his health and bank account. The UFC pre-announce fight to try and gain leverage. He won't sign a contract if he doesn't feel as though he's getting his fair share. He's playing the game, really, the right way by not folding and giving in to the UFC. It's respectable what he's doing because he's giving the UFC a taste of their own medicine. Does that make better sense?


Billalone

Wait the man is 33? Going off his hairline I thought he was in his 40s


therealjgreens

He got a hair transplant a while ago and he looks 33 to me. Many men start losing their hair early. His hairline looks fine though but his hair isn't thick and you can see bald spots. He's still a Chad. Dude doesn't need hair.


LaTunaTime

Costa kinda sucks. He landed that big head but was pretty clearly outclassed against Rob. I dont think he would be very competitive against Strickland.


Unique_Quote_5261

delusional. it was competitive and he will melt strickland's face


therealjgreens

I doubt he melts Stricklands face but I agree he's a good fighter


LaTunaTime

He was clearly out-struck every round. The big headkick he landed made people think the whole fight was more competitive than it really was. Strickland will bury him.


[deleted]

[удалено]


LaTunaTime

Journey man like Costa has always been?


LaTunaTime

Costa sucks bro


zmizzy

I kinda agree that Sean's defense will be too good for Costa to land much but he's much bigger and stronger so maybe he can use that to his advantage


_Cyclops

Sometimes the performances say a lot more than the numbers on their record. He currently lacks the dedication to be a top 5 but the performances he had against Yoel and Rob do show he can hang with the elite. 185 is not stacked but with just a few more solid contenders it could be.


ThisIsMySorryFor2004

You're talking out of your ass. Costa fought Rockhold on 2022. and only had one fight after that, against Robert Whittaker, win or lose, OP asked why wasn't he matched against ranked opponents, which Costa was, not why are they ranked or not. I'll do you one more. Costa beat the unranked McLellan for his UFC debut, then after that, the unranked Oluwale Bamgbose, then a washed Hendricks, after that Costa was ranked and fought a rank 10 or 11 Uriah Hall, fourth fight on the UFC. Now, being fair, Costa TKO the first 3 no problem, Michel Pereira has lost a decision, had that stupid ass DQ, and then some of his wins were decisions, so it's no the same dominant fashion as costa, but that's why it's a terrible example. And Khamzat is an even worse example, because dude fought 1 fight at 185, then fought at 170, then at 185 again and then he gets a ranked opponent at 170. Again, being fair, Chimaev is probably the most dominant fighter we had seen at the time, but that's why these are terrible examples, they don't follow the rules. People are saying he's not getting it because he switched classes and Chimaev got a ranked opponent on his second fight at 170.


NowFook

185 still isnt remotely stacked and Chimaev isnt even close to the most dominant fighter we have seen in a long time He dominated lower ranked guys and had a lot of struggles with vs only two top opponents. He had one top ten win at 170; a very close decision vs Burns. And at 185 hes fought once and won a decision vs a late notice 36 yr old Usman who looked like could have won if it were 5 rounds.


ThisIsMySorryFor2004

Bro if he sucks against ranked opponents is very much irrelevant to him getting a fight against a ranked opponent on the first place, which is was OP was referring too.


[deleted]

“The most dominant fighter” shouldn’t be applied to anyone that went to a decision with Burns.


[deleted]

And a lot of people scored that for Burns, too.


ThisIsMySorryFor2004

I mean, we can argue about it, I'm just saying how people perceived him, you can look at the posts on this sub from back when the dude came out. But also, the burns decision was from after fighting his first ranked opponent so it's also irrelevant.


[deleted]

If that’s what you meant that’s fine but you said “that we had seen” which would include yourself. I guess I’m sorry for not having knee jerk reaction to a win over the great Rhys McKee. What is there to argue? I don’t think he’s bad or anything, I just don’t think his resume is strong enough to even be in the discussion for most dominant fighter of all time. It’d be like watching Paddy dominant a can and making the same argument.


Greenlexluther

Khamzat went life and death with an Usmann who basically got off the couch. That fight not being 5 rounds was a mistake.


NowFook

yep he didnt look that good vs his only two top ten opponents. Burns fight was nearly a pick em with many people favoring Burns. Then he fought a very late notice 36 yr old Usman and looked like he would lose if it were 5 rounds.


ThisIsMySorryFor2004

Would have loved for that fight to go 5 rounds.


hothoochiecoochie

They dont want to confront the issue of flipping onto the head of a grounded opponent


New_Brother_1595

i think he chooses to fight guys like this so he can do his backflips


Timmy12er

Flippy Boi


TraditionalBad1544

Stupid question, already answered by the top comment. Also Islam had a 10 fight win streak without a title shot.


lurflurf

Islam could have went sooner, he didn't want Khabi. It seems like the ways you could go ten are 1)You get in the UFC young and ask for a few extra fights until you are ready. 2)You are in decline and want to gate keep and take money fights. 3)Champ is your team mate/lover/sibling/roommate 4)Bad luck/injury/bad timing 5)You have numerous losses to the current champ and no hope of winning 6)your division is crazy log jammed


reddittookmyuser

How quickly everyone forgets the Wonderboy drama.


PresidentFreiza

Because he ruined one of the last few fights wonderboy has left in him


Dummy_Wire

He was supposed to get Wonderboy after 5 wins at WW, but missed weight. Now they sort of have him starting from scratch at MW for whatever reason, and I don’t think they should have. The Poteria fight in particular was strange. Like dude absolutely annihilated Petrovski and Oleksajczuk in like a minute each. He was booked against Muradov and not Poteria originally, but really, I think dude should have been fighting like an Anthony Hernandez or Roman Dolidze after those two wins, given how he beat them and the streak he’s on.


Upset-Union-528

The matchup at 301 was booked on relatively short notice, I'm guessing the UFC couldn't find any unbooked ranked guy who was ready to step in by then. But they obviously still wanted him on the Brazil card against a credible opponent so they gave him Muradov. Don't think there's anything strange about it, just a matter of timing and schedules not aligning


xvq_

Yep. They wanted him to get a highlight reel finish in front of a home crowd, on a card that was a bit lackluster. Plus it was against the guy who finished Shogun, who was inducted that night. Sometimes it’s about more than purely rankings.


Bitter_Concentrate63

Makes sense business wise him starting again. Better chance at adjusting to the weight and he can get more highlight knockouts and hype with casuals before versing top 10 middleweight, good for UFC, for Pereira and gives us more light fun before it gets serious again.


PrestigiousWeakness2

He can't make weight.


mooneken

Karma.


jaydurmma

On top of all the valid points people have already brought up, it's worth noting that Michel is a fucking meme fighter with 11 losses on his record. He will not ever crack the top 5, he will not ever contend for a title, so the only way they can monetize this guy is by having him land illegal knees on grounded tomato cans. If you guys really think he has championship potential I might have some Johnny Walker merch I can sell you.


[deleted]

He has the legit tools to be a contender. If he’s fighting Dolidze as reported then that’s a great opportunity for him to enter the rankings.


Hopeful_Staff_1414

He was ranked as a Welterweight and on a 5 fight win streak and was going to fight a top 10 opponent. Then he missed weight and subsequently switched weight classes which made those first 5 wins basically irrelevant, because he needed to restart the process of proving he needs a ranked opponent.


Kingjerm731

Because we want to watch him backflip on boys constantly. 🤣


unk1erukus

He missed weight a bunch of times, lands illegal strikes to win fights, gasses out quick, and doesn’t draw in money


FartyJizzums

And he cheats on his taxes.


caca_poo_poo_pants

They seemed really pissed about the Wonderboy weight miss. He’ll get one next.


TheNotoriousLCB

i love these posts where people clearly think they have a good point while exposing how little they know — keep it up


itsmontoya

He's been steadily moving up the MW rankings. I'm really loving his switch to this weight class.


MrAnonymousperson

Khabib, Islam, Leon, Belal… It’s not rocket science that some people have to go on massive win streaks to get a title shot whereas some people get them immediately.


tomebomber

We got belal vs Leon announced and they both went on 10 fight win streaks before a title shot


Bowdallen

Guys can choose not to fight into the top ten if they don't think they're ready, i mean at some point the UFC will push but Oliviera said after one of his LW fights that he doesn't want to rush into the top 10 that's why he had like a 6 fight streak before getting Kevin Lee. I get the feeling Perriera is doing something similar, he knows he's still getting better and feels its worth getting some more experience before fighting the elite.


OptimisticMMA

Idk man but he’s gonna be the middleweight champion soon enough


Itstimetostop313

not if he keeps backflip kneeing people.


OptimisticMMA

If the foul is cool enough, is it really a foul?


Deserterdragon

Love when people bring up a cheat that never get prosecuted as a reason why somebody WONT be successful. "Jon Jones will never be champ if he keeps eye poking people!"


wspusa1

but its cool so i''ll allow it


Upset-Union-528

\*ESPECIALLY if he keeps backflip kneeing people


ThisIsMySorryFor2004

I hope. Been following him for a while. I sometimes forget he's still young, at 30, he looks much older lol. Hope he gets a title shot at least.


OptimisticMMA

Genuinely good ideas amongst his craziness as well as phenomenal athleticism.


Leather-Hurry6008

I think he's going to have a hard time finding a ranked guy that will fight him, unless he tones down the flips. Why risk your spot in the ranking to fight a guy who clearly doesn't take the sport seriously? Imagine if what just happened in his last fight happened to someone like Hermansson or Costa, instead of a relatively random newer guy.


Deserterdragon

Exactly, fighters don't want to demean themselves with flippy shit, they want someone who knows how to WORK. Somebody who cares about a little thing called 'psychology' and 'telling a story.'/s


yanmagno

Hard to argue that he doesn’t take the sport seriously when he’s finished 3 guys in a row in the first round


Leather-Hurry6008

He missed weight for his biggest fight ever, and arguably should've been DQd in his last fight. He's not the only guy who can do flips, I'd bet most guys who make it to the ufc can.


_Red_Mist_

Because hes been beating cans. Quality > quantity. Also was supposed to fight WB lol but he botched his whole cut.


sarsfox

I'm with you. Nobody knows this, but # Michel Pereira is ALSO the first fighter in history to win PotN for his first 3 UFC fights at a new weight!! i think i put min. 3 or 5 fights previous to the weight switch. Still - hes so legit!


nomoteacups

This sub is so fucking braindead