Shara Bullet returned from an 11-month layoff to defeat Michel Pereira by decision in the UFC Baku co-main event. The performance was largely cautious, with Bullet spending much of the fight at distance after a difficult opening round. Bullet vowed to return to Baku and win a UFC title.
Shara "Bullet" Magomedov returned from nearly a year on the sidelines to defeat Michel Pereira by decision in the co-main event of UFC Baku on June 27, 2026, earning a hard-fought middleweight victory in front of a home crowd.
Pereira, the 32-year-old Brazilian known as "Demolidor," entered the fight ranked 15th in the middleweight division with a professional record of 32 wins and 15 losses. Fighting out of Overcome Academy, the six-foot-one southpaw carries a 73-inch reach and has built a reputation as an entertaining, high-volume striker, averaging 4.46 significant strikes per minute at a 51 percent accuracy rate. He also adds a takedown threat, averaging 1.21 takedowns per 15 minutes.
Bullet, returning after an 11-month layoff, struggled in the opening round but settled into a measured, distance-based approach as the fight progressed. The cautious game plan proved effective enough to secure the judges' nod across the three rounds.
Why it matters
- Bullet's return from a lengthy absence ends with a victory, keeping him relevant in a stacked middleweight division.
- The win comes on home soil in Baku, adding weight to his post-fight declaration that he intends to return to the city as a UFC champion.
- Pereira's ranking of 15th means the result carries divisional implications, with Bullet potentially pushing toward the rankings with the decision win.
- The style matchup between Pereira's high-output striking and Bullet's more calculated approach produced a tactical contest rather than the fireworks either fighter's fanbase might have hoped for.
Following the victory, Bullet made clear his ambitions extend beyond a single win, vowing to one day claim UFC gold back in Azerbaijan.
