The kickboxing sensation arrived in the UFC, displaying his striking skills in the best light. His story is inspiring, and his career has been successful through two sports. He came straight from dangerous Brazil and poverty to the UFC world scene.
Early Days
Alexandro Sandro Silva Pereiria was born in 1987 in Sao Bernardo do Compo, Sao Paulo, Brazil. He has ancestry roots in the indigenous Potaxo tribe, and his nickname is “Poatan,” which means “Hands of Stone” in Tupi language. He didn’t even finish high school because he dropped out to work as a bricklayer’s assistant.
He also worked in a tire shop, where he was influenced by his colleagues and acquired bad habits with alcohol. The only salvation was dedication to sports, which Pereira did and signed up for kickboxing classes.
Amateur Career
At the age of 21, Alex Pereira entered the kickboxing world for the first time, where, by chance, all the people were native Brazilians, so Pereira discovered his heritage and got his nickname. Although not much is available regarding his amateur career, it is known that Poatan competed as an amateur only in his primary sport, kickboxing, starting in 2009.
He showed his heavy hands long before MMA and professional kickboxing when he knocked out all 25 opponents in his amateur career, including three defeats from the same opponent.
Professional Career
As a professional kickboxer, he first appeared 2012 at the Jungle Fight event. Later in his career, he competed for WAKO and the famous Glory. In nine years of competition, Poatan recorded 33 wins with 21 knockouts and seven losses. He also tried his hand at professional boxing, where he recorded one victory by TKO in the third round.
After transitioning to MMA and deciding to fully commit, he debuted in 2015 as a professional for the same organization where he had his first kickboxing match, Jungle Fight. He also performed in the LFA cage once, and after only five matches, he reached the UFC. Today, Pereira has nine MMA victories, seven of which are knockouts and two decisions, and he has two losses. In the last two years, he was victorious over UFC greats such as Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya, Jan Blachowicz, and Jiri Prochazka.
Fighting Style
Elite Striking Arsenal: Alex Pereira is an overall elite striker, confidently wielding stone hands. Whether working from a distance or engaging in pocket exchanges, Pereira’s striking prowess is marked by precision and power.
Strategic Distance Work: Pereira utilizes killer calf and low kicks from range, exploiting opponents’ vulnerabilities and setting them up for powerful fist combinations. His calculated approach ensures he controls the pace of the fight.
Kickboxing Expertise Transfer: With a background in kickboxing, Pereira seamlessly transitions the three fundamental hand tools—jab, cross, and a notorious left hook—into the cage, capable of shutting down any opponent.
Unorthodox Stance and Counterattacking Brilliance: Pereira’s unorthodox stance, keeping his hands low, conceals a counterattacking brilliance. His left hook, timed to perfection, becomes a formidable weapon when countering opponents’ strikes.
Ruthless Finisher: When sensing vulnerability in his opponent, Pereira becomes a ruthless finisher, carefully choosing his final blows to maximize impact and ensure victory.
Clinch Dominance: Pereira finds success in the clinch, employing brutal knees to the body and damaging elbows. His ability to inflict maximum damage in close quarters adds versatility to his striking game.
Ground Game Skills: Despite having a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and knowledge of wrestling basics, Pereira primarily opts for a standing fight. A better grappler might pose challenges if the fight goes to the ground, but Pereira’s focus remains on applying pressure with lethal punches.
Promising Future: Fresh in the MMA scene, Pereira has already reached the top and trains with Glover Teixeira, indicating undeniable potential for future progress. As he continues to evolve, there’s no doubt about the exciting trajectory of “Poatan” Pereira in the world of mixed martial arts.
Achievements in Martial Arts
Alex Pereira was inducted into the Glory Hall of Fame in 2023, which is deserved, considering that Alex is a former light heavyweight and middleweight champion with five title defenses. His kickboxing career was crowned with titles and awards at Glory and WAKO competitions.
He transferred his success to the MMA cage, where he was awarded Breakout Fighter and Male Fighter of the Year in 2022. Pereira achieved something very rare: winning two UFC belts in different divisions within a year of each other. He was also awarded four Performance of the Night bonuses and won the 2022 Knockout of the Month against Sean Strickland. And with his further performances, we expect more achievements and breaking records by Poatan.
The Most Incredible Win
Alex Pereira’s most impressive victories in MMA are winning the middleweight and light heavyweight UFC championships. After seven matches, Alex finally managed to hunt down Israel Adesanya in his division. Pereira took their rivalry for another title fight, where after 20 minutes, he finally hurt him two minutes before the last bell and finished him with a technical knockout with his powerful fists to become the middleweight champion.
It is important to note that Israel had a slight advantage, and all that was needed was to hold on until the end, but Alex spoiled his plans. Only one year later, Pereira moved up to the division above, where he fought with Jiri Prochazka for the vacant light-heavyweight title. Although the first round went in the Czechs’ favor, in the second, Alex managed to increase the pressure under which Jiri cracked.
Pereira finished him with a technical knockout to win the light heavyweight championship. In both matches, Poatan took home Performance of the Night Bonuses in addition to the title. The names he managed to collect victories over in just one year of climbing through the rankings are more than impressive for a one-dimensional kickboxing champion.
Daily Training Gear
It is to be expected that an elite kickboxer like Alex leaves his fighting confidence behind Fairtex’s trusty boxing gloves while doing his striking training in Everlast gloves. Poatan also understands the quality the WINNING brand brings, so he will gladly test their gloves on teammates’ heads.
Another product in his training gear arsenal is Combat Corner Boxing gloves and MMA gloves, which are huge, comfortable, and safe, along with their amazing shinguards. After transitioning to MMA and starting to work on the ground, Alex discovered that Fairtex’s hybrid gloves work wonders, even outside of kickboxing.
When he’s not in Everlast training gear, Poatan prefers to work up a sweat in Venum shorts and Venum long compression shorts, which are great for grappling and MMA training.
- Leather Construction
- Multi Layered Padding
- Hook and Loop Closure
- Approved and used by TBA, WKA, USMTO and other Organizations
- Also great for bag and pad training
- ✅ FULLY SEGMENTED FINGERS; PADDED THUMB - Absorbs the shock of any impact to protect the hand and...
- ✅ CHANNEL WRIST LOCK PROTECTION & WRAP FIT+ CLOSURE - Adjustable wrist closure to customize...
- ✅ TOP QUALITY MADE OF 100% LEATHER - Durable Manufactured 100% Leather Construction for maximum...
- ✅ TESTED BY PROFESSIONAL BOXERS AND FIGHTERS - Designed by fighters, for fighters. Pro Design for...
- ✅ OPENS FULLY FOR EASY ON/OFF DESIGN - Take your Boxing Gloves on and off with no sweat and waste...
- ✅ DURABLE MANUFACTURED LEATHER - Combat Corner Shin Pads are carefully designed and manufactured...
- ✅ THICK DENSE PROTECTIVE PADDING - Our Combat Corner Muay Thain Shin Guards have a thick dense...
- ✅ DUAL HOOK AND LOOK REAR CLOSURE - The Combat Corner Elite Spar Shin Pads which provides the...
- ✅ DUAL ELASTIC BEHIND THE ANKLE AND UNDER FOOT STRAPS - We’ve designed this Shin Guard...
- ✅ FULL PROTECTION DESIGN - This Protective Leg Shin Guards also offers a foot instep for full...
- Manufactered by Winning in Japan with the craft
- Safe and best quality of Japan
- Anti Thumbing Style
- Available in M (14 OZ), L (16 OZ), and XL (18 OZ) sizes.
- The Elite Training glove has a revolutionary design that incorporates a new anatomically shaped...
- Developed with Evershield technology to stabilize and protect your hand and wrist during intense...
- The cutting edge one-piece design was engineered to act like a natural extension of your hand for a...
- Built with a premium blend of multi-layered foam & incredibly strong advanced composite microfiber...
- Genuine Top Grain Leather Shell.
- Ergonomically Engineered with a Unique Contoured and Tight-Fit Hand Compartment to Provide a Secure...
- Size M - Knuckle Width (Max) 4.8" ; Weight 5 oz
- Size L - Knuckle Width (Max) 5.2" ; Weight 5.5 oz
- Size XL - Knuckle Width (Max) 5.9" ; Weight 6 oz
Net Worth
Alex Pereira managed to secure a Net Worth of $2 Million during his short time participating in the UFC. In the fight with Adesanya at UFC 287, he earned the highest salary of $1.24 million, meaning his base salary is $500,000 plus $50,000 in bonuses. As for sponsorships, Poatan’s back is guarded by partners such as OWNIC for NFTs and athletic medical oil AthleticCBD. Looking at theufcnews.com, it can be concluded that Pereira has earned a total of $5.8 million for all UFC matches so far.
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Last update on 2024-05-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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