UFC 301 is all ready and set in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The special highlight moment came when the weigh-in ceremony nearly ended in disaster. Fan favorite Michel Pereira lived up to his “Demolidor” nickname. He brought his trademark wild antics to the scale with near-catastrophic results.
After Michel Pereira weighed in successfully, he suddenly launched himself into the air. Pereira landed cleanly back on the stage, executing a flawless backward somersault. However, one minor miscalculation almost turned the highlight reel into a horror story. Pereira’s acrobatics brought him perilously close to a ring girl. He almost backflipped onto her, but the model moved out of the way at the last second.
Pereira recently switched divisions from welterweight to middleweight after missing weight at UFC 291 against Stephen Thompson. He is now on a two-fight win streak, the latest of which came at UFC 299. This kind of mayhem has become par for the course with Pereira, as the Brazilian is known for his weigh-in antics.
He’ll look to follow up his aerial theatrics with fireworks at UFC 301 against Ihor Potieria. This event is headlined by Steve Erceg vs. Alexandre Pantoja. This persona of his endears him to fight fans. When that cage door closes, fight fans will see his free-spirited creativity and violence filled with exciting moments.
Fans react to Michel Pereira’s backflip at UFC 301 weigh-ins
The MMA world is still buzzing after Michel Pereira’s intense weigh-in antics. The Brazilian fighter nearly took out a ring girl with a wayward backflip. Though the UFC officials likely cringed, fans absolutely ate it up.
Fight fans reacted to Michel Pereira’s antics (via ClutchPoints)Social media immediately exploded with reactions ranging from awestruck to hysterical. Some fight fans couldn’t believe the craziness they just witnessed. Others chalked it up to typical Michel Pereira behavior. Some expressed concern for the ring girl’s safety, while the athletic performance entertained others. Here are some of the reactions from fight fans:
Banger…
— 🧨BOOMSQUAD#589🧨 (@BOOMSQUADHNS) May 3, 2024
I dont think im watching 301 when the most exciting thing about that card is that guy
— Ben Rainville (@BiGBeNKO37) May 4, 2024
Can’t wait to see what new kind of foul he comes up with in his coming fight!!
— gamezjohn (@GamezJohnTV) May 3, 2024
And then gasses in the 3rd
— buck (@Tbuck1991) May 3, 2024
If you watch the full video, the dude in the green jacket told him not to do a flip right before 😂 can see his reaction here
— MMAUSTRALIA (@mmaausx) May 4, 2024
So much wasted energy
— The Tenacious Tunas (@tenacious_tunas) May 4, 2024
Pereira’s stunts clearly resonated with the MMA community. The live, unscripted hilarity and feats are a treat to have. But while the backflips were entertaining, the notion of serious injury was too close for comfort as well. Maybe next time, Periera will check to see if the coast is clear for an exciting backflip or two.
