Outside Source
Pericic battled on Shamil Gaziev in a titanic heavyweight tilt at UFC Perth on Saturday. While Pericic hurt Gaziev early, the Bahraini refused to hit the canvas. When Pericic gain the advantage, Gaziev fired back with a vengeance, leading to a brutal slugfest. Pericic kept inflicting punishment, and Gaziev finally went down in the second round. Both fighters walked home with $100K “Fight of the Night” checks for their efforts.
Pericic made sure to express his gratitude to the promotion as much as he could. He credited both the sport and this organization for changing his life, which inspires him to put on a show for fans every time he steps inside the Octagon. Pericic notes that he is calm and collected when he fights, as he believes he has already won tougher battles in life. Pericic expressed in his post-fight interview:
“I’m very thankful to this company,” the Aussie exclaimed. “This company saved my life. Mixed martial arts saved my life. So that’s why when I go out there, I wanna represent the struggles that I’ve been through and give that to the crowd, give them that big win, that KO win. Because the s–t that I’ve been through in life, that’s the true fight. This is easy. There [were] no nerves in there for me. I wouldn’t have cared if it was the champion, I would have done the same thing.”
Proud of his Croatian heritage, the Australian-born Pericic trains out of City Kickboxing in New Zealand. Pericic saw hard times early in his career, when he used to live in the gym or in his car. Pericic is grateful to Australasian veterans like Israel Adesanya and Tyson Pedro for believing in him when he was at his lowest point. While Pericic is yet to reach the pinnacle of stardom, “The Balkan Bear” believes he will become a household name over time. Pericic continued:
“I love the Aussies–my people. They don’t even know who I am properly. Give it a couple of years. I’ve got 10 years in this company. So, I wanna be around for a long time, be a household name. I love this company, I love the UFC. Thank you to Dana White, Sean Shelby, Mick Maynard, Hunter Campbell, all you boys, you saved my life,” he gushed.
Win or lose, “The Balkan Bear” has never competed beyond 8:44 in a pro fight—and that new personal record was set against Gaziev. Pericic (7-1) has earned stoppages in all seven of his career wins, including three in the UFC. Along the way, the slugger has claimed a pair of post-fight bonus honors. Meanwhile, Gaziev (14-3) was coming off a stoppage loss against Waldo Cortes-Acosta, falling to .500 as a UFC fighter with his second consecutive knockout defeat.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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