Moonsaulting MMA fighter is the hero we need but don’t deserve

Allow us to introduce you to your new favourite mixed martial arts fighter.

Sure, there's reason to be impressed with the dominant wrestling game of the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov. The technical, although not always devastating striking, of Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson also deserves plenty or praise. But we here at SportsJOE love us some wild shit and that's exactly what we were given by Michel Pereira last weekend. Pereira has always been fond of flashiness in the cage and his appearance at Road FC 52 on Saturday night was no exception. Pereira stole the show and understandably went viral for his acrobatic attacks in his openweight clash with Dae Sung Kim in Seoul, South Korea. We've seen spinning strikes aplenty in the past from fighters and the more creative strikers have utilised the fence to their advantage à la Anthony Pettis. https://twitter.com/MikeLovesTacosX/status/1099749839775154176 But never have we seen a fighter incorporate as many backflips into their strategy as Pereira managed before he eventually got the TKO victory with several brutal Muay Thai knees. The win pushed Pereira to 22-9, 2 NC as a professional and while the gaps he leaves in his defence would likely be exploited by higher-level opponents, we're of the opinion that the more moonsaults, the merrier in MMA.