Shara Bullet says he entered his fight with Michel Pereira specifically prepared to avoid the right hand — the very punch that dropped him in the early minutes. After getting knocked down, Bullet says he told himself the worst had already happened and there was nothing left to fear. He remained active throughout, looking to catch Pereira's chin while working from the bottom position.
Shara "Bullet" Magomedov opened up about his mental approach during his bout with Michel Pereira at UFC Baku, revealing that the knockdown he suffered early in the fight ultimately freed him from hesitation rather than rattling his confidence.
Bullet acknowledged that he entered the contest with a specific defensive focus on Pereira's right hand — the very strike that sent him to the canvas in the opening minutes. Rather than being derailed by the moment, he described a shift in mindset once he hit the floor, telling himself the worst had already happened and that there was nothing left to fear. From that point, he stayed active even from the bottom position, looking to catch Pereira on the chin as opportunities arose.
Pereira, the 32-year-old Brazilian southpaw — fighting out of Overcome Academy — carried a 32-15-0 record into the fight, ranked fifteenth in the middleweight division. The six-foot-one striker with a 73-inch reach is a consistent volume fighter, averaging 4.46 significant strikes landed per minute at 51 percent accuracy, and supplements his standup with 1.21 takedowns per 15 minutes.
Why it matters
- Bullet's account highlights the mental resilience required at the elite middleweight level, where a single punch can change the course of a fight.
- Pereira's right hand proving effective even against a prepared opponent underscores his danger as a ranked contender in the division.
- The middleweight picture remains competitive, and how both fighters are assessed following UFC Baku could influence their positioning near the divisional rankings.
