Patient Pereira Decisions Williams

Khaos Williams and Michel Pereira faced off in a Welterweight clash tonight (Sat., Dec. 19, 2020) at UFC Vegas 17 from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. Following a close battle, Pereira’s hand was raised.

Pereira stuck an early 1-2 and hard body kick after some feints from both men. Pereira landed a good front kick, but Williams did manage to counter with a right. Good low kick scores for Williams. One more. Pereira clinched up, landed a solid knee to the mid-section. Williams whiffed on a huge swing. Pereira dug another front kick, but this time Williams’ snapped his head back on the counter. Again, Williams cracked his foe with a counter to the front kick. Pereira scored with a right hand and knee to the body. At the bell, Pereira attempted a jump knee to no avail.

Williams connected on a low kick to start the second after some blocked punches. Clean overhand connected to the chin of Williams, but he soon answered back with a blitz, landing the uppercut. Pereira clinched up but was shoved into the fence. Back in the center soon afterward, Williams returned to the low kick. Body jab from Pereira. Pereira landed part of a 1-2 and ate some of the counter shot. Good right hand from Pereira, followed by a jab. Williams scored to the body with a jab. Good front kick from Pereira to the mid-section. Pereira was beginning to pull momentum to his side, but Williams touched him with a hard burst of three punches. The two traded knees in the clinch along the fence. In a wild exchange, Pereira landed a couple punches then ducked towards the back, finishing the round in a seemingly deep rear naked choke that may have stolen the round.

Pereira did well to stick and move early in the third, though he wasn’t landed all that often. Good left hook from the Brazilian. Williams really looked for the low kick, but Pereira seemed to have the defensive timing down. Williams stuck a hard jab as Pereira danced. Pereira started getting real weird then landed a check hook. Williams scored with a clean right hand. Heavy front kick from Pereira. The two trade in close, and both men land. Pereira’s front kick began landing more often, and Pereira ducked down into a successful double leg takedown. Williams wall-walked back up, though he did take a knee in the process. The two traded hard kicks in a heavy exchange, but Pereira dumped his opponent back down moments later. He finished the round in top position, landing elbows.

This was a really close battle! Williams’ counter punching was really on point, and his low kicks did damage. However, Pereira’s front kicks and long right hand scored well, and ultimately his grappling advantage proved the deciding factor across 15 minutes.

Result: Michel Pereira defeats Khaos Williams via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

For complete UFC Vegas 17: “Thompson vs. Neal” results and play-by-play, click HERE!