Michel Pereira defeats Santiago Ponzinibbio in war at UFC Vegas 55
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us tonight, May 21, 2022, for UFC Vegas 55, headlined by former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm and no. 6 ranked contender Ketlen Vieira.
Co-headlining the event is a welterweight bout between a pair of Brazilian strikers in Santiago Ponzinibbio and Michel Pereira.
Ponzinibbio was on a seven-fight win streak heading into a forced two-plus year absence due to injuries, and has gone just 1-2 since returning, while Pereira has won his last four-straight, making it 5-2 thus far inside the octagon.
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Continue reading to see how this epic welterweight contest went down:
Official Result: Michel Pereira def. Santiago Ponzinibbio via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
We can tell once the bout begins that Pereira is the quicker man of the two, and he’s also the more athletic of them.
Ponzinibbio chases him around the octagon throughout the first, though he’s unable to land much of anything. Pereira is making him miss merely everything he’s throwing, even Ponzinibbio’s leg kicks.
Pereira lands a few nice right hands that get his fellow Brazilian’s attention, one of which stunned him pretty badly.
Pereira begins round two right where he left off at the end of the first, picking Ponzinibbio apart. His snap kicks up the middle, round kicks to the legs and body, his jab and cross, he’s looking incredible tonight.
Ponzinibbio is just having a tough time finding his range, the movement of Pereira is difficult for him to deal with.
But, Pereira begins to tire toward the end of the round, Ponzinibbio starts to land some of his strikes, and secures a momentary takedown at the end of the second.
The third is a very close round, with each man having a lot of success with their striking.
After a very close, entertaining fight, Michel Pereira is now 6-2 inside the octagon, and he’s now on a five-fight win streak.
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