Michel Pereira has no interest in fighting Diego Sanchez again.
Back at UFC Fight Night 167, the welterweight fought the UFC veteran in the co-main event and dominated the bout until he hit an illegal knee in the third-round. This came after a series of knees to the body that knocked Sanchez down to the mat. The 38-year-old opted to take the disqualification win as Sanchez stated that he couldn’t see.
Pereira has since moved on from that controversial ending against Sanchez, but before the welterweight got a big submission win over Zelim Imadaev at UFC Vegas 9, the Brazilian briefly discussed his match-up against the veteran with MMA Fighting and explained why he has no interest in a rematch:
“The knee strike that cut him was one I threw before, not the illegal one, and what he did was – he was a coward, he used the rules, he used what happened to win the fight,” Pereira said in an interview. “He didn’t win in an honorable way. Someone that isn’t man enough in a moment like that doesn’t have my respect.”
Pereira adds that fighting Sanchez again wouldn’t challenge him overall:
“Diego Sanchez is in the past,” Pereira said. “It wouldn’t add anything to my career. To me, I won the fight, I outclassed him. I respect his name and his history inside the UFC, but, about that fight, he’s not on my level. He’s not an athlete I would like to face again because he wouldn’t challenge me to fight better and put on a better show.”