Reports of Michel Pereira making another quick turnaround to fight Roman Dolidze at UFC Fight Night in Louisville, Ky., appear to have jumped the gun.
Following his 54-second finish at UFC 301 this past weekend, Pereira (31-11 MMA, 9-2 UFC) was reported to meet Dolidze (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in a three-round middleweight bout.
However, on Friday, Pereira took to social media to explain that he never signed a contract or even verbally agreed to the matchup, mainly because Dolidze is a teammate and training partner at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.
“I didn’t accept that fight, OK?” Pereira said in Portuguese (HT: Ag Fight). “That man, he trains with me every day. He trains with me at UFC P.I. He trains at Xtreme Couture and he fights. Got it? He accepted and I didn’t. For me, now is not the time to fight him. If he accepted, that’s his problem.
“I was even surprised when he accepted. I didn’t accept this fight, OK? Got it? I said if it was someone else I would take it. But as it is with him, now is not the time for me to fight him yet. Because for me, he was my friend, my training partner, for me, in my head. But I saw then that’s it’s not. … Since we train, I’d have to look for another gym to train at. I’d have to organize myself to do a fight with him.”
O @UfcPereira afirmou que recusou a oferta feita para que ele lutasse em junho! pic.twitter.com/JT7H7RIONd
— Ag. Fight (@AgFight) May 10, 2024
Brazil’s Pereira is coming off a first-round, bonus-earning submission victory over Potieria at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro. The one-month turnaround would’ve been the fastest of his UFC career thus far, but now, as he sits on an eight-fight winning streak inside the octagon, his next move is unclear.
Dolidze appeared to have no such qualms with taking a fight against Pereira. He acknowledged their training relationship, but the Georgian was under the impression Pereira had accepted and both sides were going to keep it professional (via X):
Yes we train together.
I was told that he agreed to fight in June 8 (not June 1 when I was originally supposed to fight ) and ufc ask me to change date. Yesterday they send me contract.
If they ask me to change date (which he asked for) and he agree of course I signed contract.— Roman Dolidze (@romandolidzeufc) May 10, 2024
Yes we train together.
I was told that he agreed to fight in June 8 (not June 1 when I was originally supposed to fight ) and ufc ask me to change date. Yesterday they send me contract.
If they ask me to change date (which he asked for) and he agree of course I signed contract.
Now, though Dolidze sees his struggles to keep active continue, with the scratched Pereira matchup joining fights with Anthony Hernandez, Jared Cannonier and Derek Brunson on the list of his canceled bouts since November.
