Michel Pereira: ‘I’m much better’ than Israel Adesanya at ‘dancing and fighting’

Michel Pereira says he has an elite skill set to beat Israel Adesanya — on the dance floor or in the Octagon.

Pereira (25-11) fights Niko Price (14-4) at UFC 264, which takes place inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., July 10, 2021, streaming via ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) and headlined by Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor 3.

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MASSIVE MIDDLEWEIGHT MATCH! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) makes its highly anticipated return to Sydney, Australia, for the first time in five years on Sat., Sept. 9, 2023, with a 185-pound world title fight inside Qudos Bank Arena. In the ESPN+-streamed pay-per-view (PPV) main event, Middleweight roost-ruler, Israel Adesanya, plans to silence No. 5-seeded contender, Sean Strickland. In UFC 293’s hard-hitting Heavyweight co-main event, No-6-ranked fan favorite, Tai Tuivasa, locks horns with towering Russian, Alexander Volkov (No. 8).

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Pereira currently resides in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight division; however, he has competed at Middleweight in the past. When asked how his insane dance skills match up to Adesanya, Pereira took the additional step of asserting his supremacy over “Stylebender” in the fight game.

“I think I’m much better than Adesanya in all areas dancing and fighting,” Pereira told MMAMania.com. “But, he’s a nice guy.”

The Brazilian also touched on his potential “Fight of the Night” or “Fight of the Year” contender against Niko Price this weekend.

“Niko Price is a guy who fights very well and is very dangerous but I’m very prepared to fight him and for us to do a great performance of the big show for the entire audience in the world,” he explained. “It will be a nice fight to watch.”

And although Pereira is conscious of the threats, he actually hasn’t watched much tape on Price.

“I’m not a big fan of watching videos and seeing how my opponents fight because I train to fight anyone,” Pereira stated. “I train to be ready on fight day and face whoever it takes I will always be prepared to fight anyone with any fighter in any place.”

UFC 264 is headlined by the lightweight trilogy between McGregor and Poirier, who collide this weekend (Sat., July 10, 2021) inside the jam-packed T-Mobile Arena. Prior to that highly-anticipated rubber match, Stephen Thompson and Gilbert Burns throw hands for a spot in the 170-pound title chase.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 264 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early Fight Pass/ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

For much more on UFC 264: “Poirier vs. McGregor 3” be sure to check out our official UFC 264 news archive by clicking here.