Alex Pereira, born July 7, 1987, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer.
He presently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the Middleweight category, where he is a former UFC Middleweight Champion.
He is a former Glory middleweight and light heavyweight champion in kickboxing, and the first and only fighter to hold Glory championships in both weight classes at the same time.
Pereira has competed in Its Showtime and SUPERKOMBAT Fighting Championship.
As of April 18, 2023, he is ranked first in the UFC middleweight rankings, and he is ranked ninth in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings as of April 25, 2023.
Pereira was ranked first in the kickboxing middleweight and light-heavyweight categories in February 2021.
Early life and Education
Pereira, who grew up in a favela, dropped out of middle school at the age of 12 to work in a tire store.
He began drinking after being influenced by his colleagues and finally became an alcoholic.
In an attempt to overcome his addiction, he began training in kickboxing in 2009.
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Career
Kickboxing career
On March 8, 2014, he won the Glory 14: Zagreb – Middleweight Contender Tournament in Zagreb, Croatia.
Defeating Dustin Jacoby in the semi-finals by first-round knockout and Sahak Parparyan by majority decision.
Pereira was named as one of eight fighters competing in the Glory 17: Los Angeles – Last Man Standing event during the Glory 15: Istanbul broadcast.
On June 21, 2014, a standing middleweight tournament will be held in Inglewood, California, USA.
In the quarter-finals, he was defeated by eventual champion Artem Levin by unanimous decision.
He was slated to rematch with César Almeida for the vacant WGP Middleweight title at WGP Kickboxing 25.
He won a unanimous decision over Almeida. He successfully defended his WGP KB title against Maycon Silva in the second round at WGP KB 40.
Pereira went 4-1 in his next five fights, losing only to pound-for-pound great Artur Kyshenko.
During this run, Pereira secured his most memorable victory, defeating future UFC Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya twice: once by unanimous decision and once by a counter left hook KO.
Pereira won the Glory Middleweight title by unanimous decision over Simon Marcus at Glory 46: China.
Mixed Martial Arts Career
Pereira, who previously competed in kickboxing, made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2015 at Jungle Fight 82 against Quemuel Ottoni [pt], losing through submission.
He went on to win two straight fights at Jungle Fight, with KOs and TKOs against Marcelo Cruz and Marcus Vinicius Silveira, respectively.
On August 10, 2018, Pereira confirmed that he has signed a contract to fight Diego Henrique da Silva in the Brazilian edition of Dana White’s Contender Series.
The fight never happened because Glory refused to let Pereira compete.
Pereira signed a contract with Legacy Fighting Alliance on October 22, 2020, and made his official debut against Thomas Powell on November 20, 2020.
He won the battle by knockout in the first round.
On November 12, 2022, Pereira faced Israel Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 281.
In the fifth round, he won via technical knockout. This victory earned him the prize for Performance of the Night.
Pereira and Adesanya fought for the UFC Middleweight Championship again on April 8, 2023, at UFC 287.
He was knocked out in the final minute of round two.
Personal Life
Alex Pereira is of indigenous descent from the Pataxó tribe.
His nickname “Poatan” means “Stone Hands” in Tupi, which is not the indigenous language of the Pataxó.
Belocqua Wera, Pereira’s first kickboxing trainer who also assisted him in discovering his indigenous roots, gave him the nickname.
He has a younger sister, Aline Pereira, who competes for Glory and made her MMA debut on November 18, 2022.
