UFC Baku live blog: Shara Bullet vs. Michel Pereira

Shara "Bullet" Magomedov's striking prowess shone through in the UFC Baku co-main event, as the Russian middleweight earned a unanimous decision over veteran Michel Pereira. After a wild first round where Pereira scored a knockdown with a straight right hand and spent time controlling Fiziev from his back, Magomedov found his rhythm and systematically attacked with kicks at multiple levels while maintaining distance and frustration for his opponent over the final 10 minutes. All three judges scored the bout 29-28 for Magomedov. Pereira, a 32-year-old with nearly 50 professional fights, came in as a significant underdog but showed his unpredictable striking early. However, persistent cardio issues plagued his performance as the rounds progressed, allowing Magomedov to control the latter two-thirds of the fight with his disciplined kick-heavy approach. The bout had carried bad blood heading into Saturday; the fighters were separated during their Friday faceoff and had to be pulled apart after the heated exchange. Magomedov (17-1 UFC record) improves to 6-1 inside the UFC and rebounds following a February 2025 loss to Bellator veteran Michael Page. This second consecutive victory positions the striking specialist as he pursues "bigger and better things," as he stated post-fight while calling for a shot at the middleweight title.