Michel Pereira ‘Upset’ Anthony Pettis After UFC Vegas 17 Fight FAILED!

Brazilian MMA fighter Michel Pereira was offered a 170-pound bout with former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis but according to him, “Showtime” turned it down. Because of that, Pereira is now set to fight Khaos Williams on the main card of UFC Vegas 17. Read on…

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CelebnSports247.com reports that Michel Pereira spoke with MMA Fighting ahead of his fifth octagon appearance explaining why he is now fighting Khaos Williams and not former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.

Michel Pereira who is on the main card of UFC Vegas 17 against Khaos Williams, and Pettis booked against Alex Morono on the prelims of the Saturday event had this to say.

He explains:

I’m upset with Anthony Pettis because he said he was hurt, he had a back injury, and wouldn’t fight me, and I understood that, he’s hurt and can’t fight, OK, but now he’s fighting on the same card on the 19th.

So why isn’t he fighting me? Is he scared? Or is it because I’m not ranked? Why? I almost didn’t get a fight in December because he was stalling for a month to say yes or no. He said no, and now he’s also fighting on the 19th.

Pereira, who won a “Performance of the Night” bonus for a third-round stoppage of Zelim Imadaev in his most recent UFC bout, wonders if the MMA icon is “afraid” of getting in the cage with him.

Pereira said of Pettis, who most recently won a decision over Donald Cerrone in May:

I think it’s fear, right? It can only be fear. I don’t know. He can’t fight me but will fight someone else? I think it’s fear. … I know many fighters in my division are afraid of me, but time will come for me to fight them all. With my humbleness, focus, discipline and charisma, I’ll reach the top and get my moment.

Pettis fights earlier that night on Dec. 19, and “Demolidor” will call him out if victorious against Williams.

I want to fight him really bad, and he will agree to that if he’s a man. We’ll put on a great fight. I would really like to fight him because if you look at his past, I admire his work. He’s done a lot for the UFC. I just wanted to fight him and he does that. He can say he won’t fight me, cool, I get it, but come up with an excuse and almost derailing my plans of fighting in December, man, that upset me. I really want to fight him.

Pettis confirmed he was offered a fight with the Brazilian, but explained that the circumstances were different.

Pettis said in an interview with MMA Fighting:

When they offered me a fight on the 19th, I was looking at the 12th, the last fight card. If I’m gonna fight, I’d rather be on the last card fight of year, get an extra week. This was probably three weeks ago. I think they offered him to my agent for the 12th and I’m like, ‘I’d rather have the extra week.’ During that one week of negotiations when [Leon] Edwards got his COVID test results and pulled out because of COVID, that opened up a spot on the 19th card and I hit up Dana [White] myself [and said], ‘Dana, let me get on that card.’

Dana sends me five names and he’s like, these are the guys available. That guy’s name wasn’t on that list. I know who he is because he’s tried the ‘Showtime Kick,’ and he did it a couple of times, but he’s mistaken that he thinks I’m afraid. I already fought the guy who’s in the main event of the card, why would I be afraid to fight this dude?