Flashy welterweight Michel Pereira will remain on this weekend’s UFC card, as he has been booked to face promotional newcomer Andre Fialho. The new bout is set to take place on January 15th at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
News of the matchup was first reported by Brett Okamoto of ESPN and was later confirmed by Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.
Pereira was originally scheduled to meet Muslim Salikhov on Saturday. However, that bout was thrown out last week after Salikhov reportedly withdrew from the fight.
Fialho is joining the UFC roster after a strong 2021 that saw him attain four finish wins. Three of these victories came in the promotion UAE Warriors, with the most recent victory being against former UFC fighter Stefan Sekulic.
Now with a new opponent, Pereira will be fighting to move his winning streak to four consecutive bouts. His last win came in July when he went the distance against Niko Price for a unanimous decision win.
Featherweights Giga Chikadze and Calvin Kattar are currently scheduled to headline this weekend’s UFC card. Here’s the updated lineup:
Bout 12: Calvin Kattar (22-5) vs. Giga Chikadze (14-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 11: Katlyn Chookagian (16-4) vs. Jennifer Maia (19-7-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 10: Brandon Royval (12-6) vs. Rogerio Bontorin (17-3) (Flyweight)
Bout 9: Chase Sherman (15-8) vs. Jake Collier (12-6) (Heavyweight)
Bout 8: Joanderson Brito (12-2-1) vs. Bill Algeo (14-6) (Featherweight)
Bout 7: Ramiz Brahimaj (9-3) vs. Court McGee (20-10) (Welterweight)
Bout 6: TJ Brown (15-8) vs. Gabriel Benitez (22-9) (Featherweight)
Bout 5: Dakota Bush (8-3) vs. Viacheslav Borshchev (5-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 4: Brian Kelleher (23-12) vs. Saidyokub Kakhramonov (9-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Vanessa Demopoulos (6-4) vs. Silvana Juarez (10-3) (Strawweight)
Bout 2: Jamie Pickett (12-6) vs. Joseph Holmes (7-1) (Middleweight)
Bout 1: Michel Pereira (26-11) vs. Andre Fialho (14-3) (Welterweight)
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