Michel Pereira said wife received death threats after he wore Israeli flag at UFC Vegas 81
It only took 66-seconds for Michel Pereira to put UFC middleweight Andre Petroski down this past Saturday at UFC Vegas 81, but the backlash the Brazilian mixed martial artist has received since far exceeds what he expected.
During his walk to the octagon, Pereira carried the Israeli flag in support of the ongoing conflict in Israel. As a results, Pereira has faced backlash from the Palestinian community for his open support of Israel.
Following the fight, at the UFC Vegas 81 press conference, the Brazilian was asked about his decision to wear the flag.
”The decision was because of the war that is happening in Israel,” Pereira said. “I have a lot of friends there, and I saw a lot of videos that broke my heart.”
Then on Monday, during an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Pereira revealed that his wife is the target of those who he offended.
“I didn’t see much, but my wife received a lot of messages, a lot of threatening messages, to kill us,” Pereira said. “So I didn’t see it, but I’m going to let everyone know that if something happens, if someone comes to my house, they will pay.”
Complete UFC Vegas 81 results below:
Main Card (ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET)
Edson Barboza defeated Sodiq Yusuff via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-46, 48-46)
Viviane Araujo defeated Jennifer Maia via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Jonathan Martinez defeated Adrian Yanez via TKO (leg kicks) – Round 2, 2:26
Michel Pereira defeated Andre Petroski via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:06
Christian Rodriguez defeated Cameron Saaiman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Prelims (ESPN+ at 4 p.m. ET)
Darren Elkins defeated T.J. Brown via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:23
Tainara Lisboa defeated Ravena Oliveira via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Terrance McKinney defeated Brendon Marotte via TKO (knee and punches) – Round 1, 0:20
Melissa Dixon defeated Irina Alekseeva via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Chris Gutierrez defeated Alatengheili via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Emily Ducote defeated Ashley Yoder via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
