[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zThnRIIbdQQ&w=560&h=315]
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. Two high-flying Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweights
will go at it on the first card of next year. On Thursday, Michel
Pereira’s (26-11, 2 NC) coach told
MMA Fighting that Pereira would be facing Muslim
Salikhov (18-2) at the
UFC Fight Night card on Jan. 15. The two will likely go at it
inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Pereira has since confirmed the
matchup on his
Instagram.
Since his unsuccessful debut in 2017, Salikhov has rattled off five
wins over the last four years. Two knockouts of Ricky
Rainey and Nordine
Taleb springboarded “The King of Kung Fu” into matchups with
Laureano
Staropoli, Elizeu
Zaleski dos Santos and Francisco
Trinaldo. The fighter out of Dagestan won all three of those by
decision, giving him the second, third and fourth decision
victories of his career. Salikhov now celebrates a stoppage rate of
78% after three straight wins on the scorecards.
Pereira has won his last three since late 2020, with a one-sided
shellacking of Zelim
Imadaev starting a win streak that led to decision wins over
Kalinn
Williams and Niko Price.
The trio of victories ended a two-bout skid where he fell short to
Tristan
Connelly after missing weight, and then disqualified himself by
illegally kneeing Diego
Sanchez late into their bout. Although he has a penchant for
flying, spinning and other high-risk strikes, “Demolidor” only
posts a knockout rate of 38% in a career that began nearly a decade
ago.
The unnumbered UFC Fight Night event on Jan. 15 will be capped off
by a featherweight battle between Calvin
Kattar and Giga
Chikadze in Las Vegas at the UFC Apex. The expected co-main
event is a women’s flyweight tilt pitting former title challengers
Katlyn
Chookagian and Jennifer
Maia against one another in a rematch. Other matches that may
be featured higher on the card include a flyweight scrap between
Brandon
Royval and Rogerio
Bontorin, as well as a middleweight brawl when Joaquin
Buckley faces Abdul
Razak Alhassan.
