• Source: Alex Pereira

Alex Sandro Silva Pereira (born 7 July 1987) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and a former UFC Middleweight Champion. As of 19 November 2024, he is #3 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.
He is the ninth fighter in UFC history to become champion in two different weight divisions and the first to become champion in both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions of the organization. In kickboxing, he is a former Glory middleweight and light heavyweight champion, and is the first and only fighter to have held Glory titles in two weight classes simultaneously. Pereira also competed in promotions such as It's Showtime and SUPERKOMBAT Fighting Championship in kickboxing, and for Jungle Fight and Legacy Fighting Alliance in MMA. Pereira is the only known fighter to be a two-division world champion in MMA and kickboxing and is regarded as one of the greatest combat athletes of all time.
Pereira was ranked #1 in the kickboxing middleweight and light-heavyweight rankings in February 2021.




Early life


Growing up in a favela, Pereira dropped out of middle school to begin working as a bricklayer's assistant and later in a tire shop. Influenced by his colleagues, he began drinking and eventually became an alcoholic. In 2009, he began training kickboxing in order to get rid of his addiction.




Amateur boxing career


Before becoming a prominent figure in kickboxing and mixed martial arts, Alex Pereira had a notable amateur boxing career in Brazil. He reportedly competed in 28 amateur boxing matches, achieving a record of 25 wins, all by knockout, with just 3 losses. Pereira’s signature power, particularly his devastating left hook, became evident early in his amateur career, as seen in viral footage showcasing multiple knockouts, including an instance where he knocked an opponent out of the ring.
Pereira’s boxing prowess garnered attention from prominent figures in combat sports. Ryan Garcia, impressed by Pereira’s ability, publicly expressed interest in training with him, highlighting the difficulty of finishing opponents in amateur boxing. Pereira’s striking abilities in the amateur ranks have also drawn admiration from other elite boxers, further emphasizing his versatility across multiple combat sports disciplines.




Kickboxing career


In 2012 Alex won the Jungle Fight Middleweight Title, the WGP -85 kg/187 lb Championship and challenged for the Its Showtime 85MAX Championship vs Jason Wilnis losing by TKO in the second round.
In 2013 he won the WAKO Pro Panamerican K-1 -85 kg/187 lb Championship.
In late 2013 he went back to the amateurs to participate in the W.A.K.O. World Championship '13 at -91 kg. He won in the quarter final and the semi final but came up short in the finals vs Sergej Maslobojev earning him a silver medal. Two months later he participated in the WGP tournament and beat Camilo Ferraz in the semi final and fought César Almeida in the finals having previously defeating him in SUPERKOMBAT New Heroes 2, in the finals Alex lost by decision making their rivalry 1-1.
In 2014 he made his Glory debut having won the Glory 14: Zagreb - Middleweight Contender Tournament in Zagreb, Croatia on 8 March 2014, beating Dustin Jacoby by first-round knockout in the semi-finals and Sahak Parparyan by majority decision in the final.
It was announced during the Glory 15: Istanbul broadcast that Pereira would be one of eight fighters competing in the Glory 17: Los Angeles - Last Man Standing middleweight tournament in Inglewood, California, United States on 21 June 2014. He lost to eventual champion Artem Levin by unanimous decision in the quarter-finals to exit the tournament.
He was scheduled to fight a trilogy with César Almeida during WGP Kickboxing 25 for the vacant belt WGP Middleweight Championship. He defeated Almeida by decision. He defended his WGP KB title with a second-round KO of Maycon Silva at WGP KB 40.
In his next five fights, Pereira went on a 4–1 run, losing only to the pound for pound great Artur Kyshenko. During this run Pereira achieved his most famous victories, defeating the future UFC Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya twice: once by unanimous decision, and once by a counter left hook KO.
Pereira participated in the Glory Contender Tournament defeating Burim Rama in the semi finals, losing to Yousri Belgaroui at the Glory 40 in the finale.




= Glory Middleweight Championship

=
Pereira won the Glory Middleweight title with a unanimous decision win against Simon Marcus at Glory 46: China.
Alex defended the title in a rematch vs Yousri Belgaroui At Glory 49 Superfight Series, and then in 2018 in New York Madison Square Garden at the Glory 55 for the Middleweight Title Match, where Belgaroui had received the overhand right knockout at 2:29 of Round 1. For Pereira, it was the 28th career victory and the sixth inside the Glory ring.
In November 2018, Pereira said he would pursue MMA career after his contract with Glory will expire in April 2019. Eventually, Pereira re-signed with Glory with possibility to fight in the mixed martial arts also.
After four successful Glory middleweight title defenses (against Yousri Belgaroui twice, Simon Marcus and Jason Wilnis), Pereira moved up to fight Donegi Abena for the interim Glory Light Heavyweight Championship at Glory 68. Pereira won the fight via knockout in the third round, becoming the first double champion in Glory history.
After winning the Interim Light Heavyweight Championship, Pereira opted to defend his middleweight title against Ertugrul Bayrak at Glory Collision 2 on 21 December 2019. After largely dominating the first round, he won the bout via knockout at the end of the round.




= Glory Light Heavyweight Championship

=
Pereira was scheduled to challenge Artem Vakhitov for the Glory Light Heavyweight title at Glory 77. Pereira won the fight by split decision, becoming the first fighter in GLORY history to simultaneously hold two belts at the same time.
Pereira was later stripped of his Middleweight title.
Pereira rematched Artem Vakhitov at Glory 78: Rotterdam in his first title defense. He lost the rematch by majority decision. Pereira was deducted one point in round 4 due to repeated clinching, which was seen by many as a controversial decision by the referee.




Mixed martial arts career






= Early career

=
Transitioning from kickboxing, Pereira made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2015 at Jungle Fight 82 against Quemuel Ottoni, losing the fight via submission. He continued at Jungle Fight subsequently racking up two straight victories against Marcelo Cruz and Marcus Vinicius Silveira, with a KO and TKO respectively. Pereira announced he had signed a contract to face Diego Henrique da Silva in the Brazilian edition of Dana White's Contender Series on August 10, 2018. However, the bout never materialized as Glory did not permit Pereira to compete.
On 22 October 2020, news surfaced that Pereira had signed a contract with Legacy Fighting Alliance and he then made his promotional debut against Thomas Powell on 20 November 2020. He won the fight via knockout in round one.




= Ultimate Fighting Championship

=
On 3 September 2021, Pereira signed with the UFC. He made his promotional debut against Andreas Michailidis on 6 November 2021, at UFC 268. He won the fight via technical knock out in round two. This win earned him a Performance of the Night award.
Pereira faced Bruno Silva on 12 March 2022, at UFC Fight Night 203. Pereira outstruck Silva for all three rounds and won the fight via unanimous decision.
Pereira was scheduled to face Sean Strickland on 30 July 2022, at UFC 277. However, the promotion decided to move the pairing to UFC 276 on 2 July 2022. Pereira won the fight after knocking Strickland out in the first round. This win earned him a Performance of the Night award, and Crypto.com Fan Bonus of the Night third place award which paid in bitcoin of US$10,000.



UFC Middleweight Championship

Pereira faced Israel Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight Championship on 12 November 2022, at UFC 281. He won the bout via technical knockout in the fifth round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.
A rematch between Pereira and Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight Championship took place on 8 April 2023, at UFC 287. He lost the bout via knockout in the final minute of round two.



Move to Light Heavyweight

Pereira was often noted for his large frame for his weight class and ability to comfortably cut large amounts of weight. According to Pereira, he would weigh about 215 pounds on fight night when fighting as a middleweight (after dehydrating to the 185-pound limit at the weigh-in), and still 225 to 235 pounds as a light heavyweight. For comparison, his longtime rival Israel Adesanya typically weighed 196 pounds on fight night.
On 13 April 2023, Pereira announced via Twitter that he was moving up to the Light Heavyweight division.
Pereira faced former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jan Błachowicz on 29 July 2023 at UFC 291. He won the back-and-forth fight via split decision. 22 out of 26 media outlets scored the bout for Pereira.



UFC Light Heavyweight Championship

Pereira faced former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jiří Procházka for the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship belt on 11 November 2023, at UFC 295. He won the bout via TKO stoppage in the second round to win the title. This fight earned him the Performance of the Night award. This victory made Pereira the 9th fighter in UFC history to become champion in two different weight divisions.
Pereira made his first title defence against former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill, on 13 April 2024, at UFC 300. He won the fight by knockout in the first round after a left hook.
On two weeks notice, replacing the main event bout between Michael Chandler and Conor McGregor, who was injured, Pereira faced Jiří Procházka in a rematch on 29 June 2024, at UFC 303. After knocking Prochazka down in the last second of the first round with a left hook, he was able to win the bout with a head kick knockdown followed by punches early in the second round. This fight earned him another $50,000 Performance of the Night award. On an interview, Pereira's coach later revealed that Pereira received a $303,000 bonus for his performance at UFC 303.
Pereira made his third title defense against Khalil Rountree Jr. on 5 October 2024 at UFC 307. He won the fight by technical knockout in the fourth round. This fight earned him his first Fight of the Night award. Pereira set the record for the shortest time for three title defenses in the UFC at 175 days, beating the previous record of 189 days by Ronda Rousey, and became the seventh UFC fighter to record three title defenses in a calendar year.




Personal life


Pereira has two sons with his ex-wife.
Pereira has indigenous ancestry from the Pataxó tribe. His nickname "Poatan" means "Stone Hands" in the Tupi language, which however is not the ethnic language of the Pataxó. The nickname was given to him by his first kickboxing trainer Belocqua Wera, who was also responsible for helping Pereira discover his indigenous ancestry.
He has a younger sister, Aline Pereira, who competed for Glory and had her MMA debut on 18 November 2022.




Championships and awards






= Mixed martial arts

=
Ultimate Fighting Championship
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (One time, current)
Three successful title defenses
Shortest time and fewest bouts to win championships in two divisions in UFC history (736 days/7 bouts)
Tied (Daniel Cormier) for third most title fight wins in UFC Light Heavyweight division history (4)
Shortest time for three consecutive title defenses in UFC history (175 days)
UFC Middleweight Championship (One time)
First and only fighter to win the UFC Middleweight and Light Heavyweight championships
Fewest MMA bouts to become a two-division UFC champion (11 bouts)
Tied (Matt Hughes, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell & T.J. Dillashaw) for second most knockouts in UFC title fights (5)
Performance of the Night (Five times) vs. Andreas Michailidis, Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya 1, and Jiří Procházka x2
Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.
Fifth highest significant strike percentage in UFC history (62.9%)
Highest significant strike percentage in UFC Light Heavyweight division history (67.2%)
Latest knockout in a UFC Middleweight fight (2:01 of R5 vs Israel Adesanya 1)
Holds wins over five former UFC champions — Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland, Jan Błachowicz, Jiří Procházka and Jamahal Hill in first 8 UFC fights.
2024 Half-Year Awards: Best Fighter of the 1HY
MMAjunkie.com
2022 July Knockout of the Month vs. Sean Strickland
2022 Male Fighter of the Year
2022 Breakout Fighter of the Year
ESPN
2022 Male Fighter of the Year
Sherdog
2022 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
2022 Fighter of the Year
MMA Fighting
2022 Male Fighter of the Year
Sports Illustrated
2022 Breakout Fighter of the Year
Yahoo! Sports
2022 Male Fighter of the Year
MMA Mania
2022 Fighter of the Year
Combat Press
2022 Male Fighter of the Year
World MMA Awards
2023 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year




= Kickboxing

=
Professional

Glory
2023 Glory Hall of Fame Inductee
2021 Glory Light Heavyweight Champion
2019 Glory interim Light Heavyweight Champion
2017 Glory Middleweight Champion (five defenses)
2014 Glory Middleweight Contender Tournament Winner
WGP Kickboxing
2015 WGP Kickboxing Middleweight Champion(1 defense)
2012 WGP -85 kg/187 lb Championship
World Association of Kickboxing Organizations
2013 WAKO Pro Panamerican K-1 -85 kg/187 lb Champion
Jungle Fight
2012 Jungle Fight Middleweight Champion
Amateur

World Association of Kickboxing Organizations
2013 silver medal in WAKO World Championships in Guaruja, Brasil K-1 -91 kg
Awards

Glory
Glory Fighter of the Year 2019
Combat Press
2017 Fight of the Year (vs. Israel Adesanya)
2019 Knockout of the Year (vs. Jason Wilnis)




Mixed martial arts record






Pay-per-view bouts






Kickboxing record






Professional boxing record






See also


List of current UFC fighters




References






External links



Alex Pereira at BoxRec (registration required)
Alex Pereira at UFC
Alex Pereira at Sherdog
Alex Pereira at Tapology.com
Alex Pereira at Fight Matrix
Alex Pereira at Glory (kickboxing)
Alex Pereira on Instagram

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

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• Grand Theft Auto V
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• Evolusi manusia
• Alex Pereira
• Alex Pereira (disambiguation)
• Aline Pereira
• Israel Adesanya
• Álex Pereira
• UFC 300
• UFC 281
• UFC 307
• UFC 295
• UFC 303