Alex Pereira is defying the odds as to what a UFC Hall of Fame run should be. The Brazilian known as ‘Poatan’ is on pace to become one of the UFC’s biggest stars, but one can argue that he is already one of the most intriguing stories in the history of the whole company. He redefined how to be successful on the sport.
How did Alex Pereira become the Final Boss of the UFC?
A Big-Time Introduction
Every villain needs a big origin story. Alex Pereira’s one actually starts before UFC, and even before he started practicing Mixed Martial Arts. Alex Pereira was a favela kid from Brazil, who saw kickboxing as a way out the slump. Little did he know, he was a prodigy.
Pereira won two Glory Kickboxing world titles and ended his kickboxing career with a 33-7 record, with 21 KOs. Among those victories, two of them were against Israel Adesanya, who emigrated to the UFC way before Pereira and grew to become one of the UFC’s biggest stars and champions.
It was Adesanya who said that Pereira was only a “guy at a pub” saying that he beat him. This prompted Pereira to drop kickboxing and start training for MMA. Oh, Adesanya regrets that, for sure. Pereira’s rise to UFC’s pinnacle has its genesis there, as Pereira stated that he felt challenged after watching Adesanya’s clip saying that.
Pereira lost his first MMA fight by submission, the area where he has much to improve since he’s a striker. Then, he improved into a 3-1 record with three KOs and that’s when the UFC called.
Welcome to the Big Show!
Pereira’s UFC debut came against Andreas Michailidis. It was on the UFC 268 fight card on November 2021. Only 18 seconds into the second round, Pereira landed a brutal knee and a couple more following shots to end it. It was an impressive debut, and given the history he had with the then-champion Adesanya, you just knew the UFC would try to fast-track him. Plus, Adesanya had cleared the division so new contenders needed to rise to keep the 185ers entertaining.
He followed that win with a UD victory over Bruno Silva, which wasn’t as impressive, but he dominated most of the fight. Next up, a shot at the middleweight rankings. However, he didn’t face a top 15 opponent, not even a top 10. He was thrown against the no.4 contender at the time, Sean Strickland. The fight lasted half a round when Pereira launched a massive left hook and then two straight rights that sent Strickland deep into the shadow realm. Bear in mind, Strickland has one of the toughest chins in the division.
Beating the no.4 contender meant Pereira went from unranked to a top 4 contender straight away. Given the narrative, storylines and the state of the division, Pereira was scheduled to challenge Adesanya, his old foe, for the title. He fought for the UFC world title with just 7 fights as a pro and three inside the UFC octagon. That is unheard of.
Rising To The Occasion
The title bout was a solid back-and-forth affair but Adesanya had the upper hand when the last round started. With the urge to win, Pereira said “pronto para matar’. That’s Portuguese for “ready to kill”, he said it right to Adesanya’s face with a death stare just before the final round started.
Pereira blitzed and threw a combo until he landed his trademarked left hook which really hurt Adesanya. He then proceeded to unload until the referee stopped it. Pereira had the fastest journey to becoming a champion, but he had gold in his waist.
A Minor Setback for Alex Pereira
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With a 3-0 record in all competitions vs. Israel Adesanya, the narrative was clear: Pereira was his boogeyman. However, the fact that Izzy was such a dominant champion granted him an immediate rematch vs. Poatan. In almost poetic fashion, the tables turned.
Pereira was the one dominating the bout and he was tearing Adesanya up with leg kicks. In a blitz, Pereira was unloading when Adesanya found a Hail Mary, well-timed overhand right that landed flush. Izzy then connected a couple of lefts and Pereira went to sleep.
Now, a very important factor is that Pereira’s weight cut was incredibly heavy. Adesanya is a natural middleweight, Pereira is massive. He walks around 232 lbs, so cutting weight all the way to 185 really depleted the Brazilian, hence, his durability was not at 100%. After the loss, Pereira made the choice to go up to light heavyweight, meaning the cut would be to 205 lbs. instead of 185.
Redemption Tour For Him… And His Mentor
Former UFC light heavyweight champion, Glover Teixeira, is Alex Pereira’s coach. But Glover is more than a coach, he’s a mentor and a best friend to Pereira. Pereira, being the absolute gangster he is, moved up a weight class and has faced all the people Glover faced in his last years as a fighter.
His first fight at 205 was vs. Jan Blachowicz, who Glover beat to become champion. Pereira suffered through instances due to Jan’s wrestling, but he managed to edge the Polish powerhouse and won by way of split decision. Beating a former champion in Blachowicz and being a former champ himself made Pereira a no.1 contender for the vacant belt. Pereira also confirmed his mentor’s win.
He faced Jiri Prochazka for the title. Prochazka was the one to dethrone Glover in an all-time war. This was to avenge his coach. It was a magnificent fight with the best staredown in UFC history. It all ended with another trademark left hook that dropped Prochazka. A short ground-and-pound followed and that was all she wrote. Pereira became a two-division champion in only two years in the UFC.
Next in line, Jamahal Hill, the one who put a beating and sent Teixeira into retirement. In other words, the second avenging. Hill is also a former champ and he never lost it, he was forced to vacate it due to injury. This was Hill’s comeback and he talked smack and showed disrespect to an otherwise stoic Pereira. Poatan embarrassed Hill and delivered an iconic moment as he retained by way of… you guessed it… his trademark left hook.
Poatan Pereira is a Megastar
Pereira has a 3.2 million following on Instagram. He’s a social sensation and has charisma for days. But not only that, he solidified himself as a certified Hall Of Famer in a matter of only three years. He has beaten five former champions already in Strickland, Adesanya, Blachowicz, Prochazka, and Hill. Pereira is a two-division champion joining only an elite club.
Poatan also has one-upped every thing that his nemesis Israel Adesanya has done. First of, the head-to-head is 3-1 in Pereira’s favor. Then, Adesanya failed to capture double-champ status losing to Blachowicz. Pereira accomplished it, and also beat Blachowicz.
Alex Pereira is effectively a one-of-a-kind fighter. His specific skillset, his charisma, his story and his demeanor granted him a fast ascension and even headlining the best UFC card ever in UFC 300. Pereira is one of the best stories in sports, flat out. Now, he’s also the UFC’s Final Boss.
About the Author
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