Pericic wants everyone to know that he is a company man through
and through.
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.
“I’m here to f***ing throw down.”
Brando Peričić continued his march up the heavyweight ladder as he
picked up another knockout victory.
#UFCPerthComplete Main Card Results ➡️ pic.twitter.com/RFLo101zUS
— UFC News (@UFCNews)
May 2, 2026