Alex Pereira

For other uses, see Alex Pereira (disambiguation).

This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Silva and the second or paternal family name is Pereira.

Alex Pereira
File:Alex Pereira.png Pereira in 2021
Born	Alex Sandro Silva Pereira (1987-07-07) 7 July 1987 São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil
Other names	Poatan
Height	6 ft 4 in
Weight	205 lb
Division	Middleweight (MMA, Kickboxing) Light heavyweight (MMA, Kickboxing) Cruiserweight (Boxing)
Reach	79 in (200 cm)
Style	Kickboxing
Stance	Orthodox
Fighting out of	Bethel, Connecticut, U.S.
Team	Teixeira MMA & Fitness (2020–present)
Trainer	Vinicius Reviravolta, Glover Teixeira
Rank	Black belt in kickboxing Black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Plinio Cruz
Years active	2010–2021 (kickboxing) 2015–present (MMA)
Professional boxing record
Total	1
Wins	1
By knockout	1
Kickboxing record
Total	40
Wins	33
By knockout	21
Losses	7
By knockout	2
Mixed martial arts record
Total	12
Wins	10
By knockout	8
By decision	2
Losses	2
By knockout	1
By submission	1
Other information
Boxing record from BoxRec
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: 23 November 2020

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 in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and a former UFC Middleweight Champion. 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. As of 20 February 2024, he is #4 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings. 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.

Kickboxing career

He 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 rematch with César Almeida during WGP Kickboxing 25 for the vacant belt WGP Middleweight title. 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 won the Glory Middleweight title with a unanimous decision win against Simon Marcus at Glory 46: China.

Glory Middleweight Championship

Pereira met Yousri Belgaroui at the Glory 40 and 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 straight successful Glory middleweight title defenses (against Yousri Belgaroui, 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 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

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.

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.

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 competes 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)
    • One successful title defense
  • UFC Middleweight Championship (One time)
  • Shortest time and fewest bouts to win championships in two divisions in UFC history (736 days/7 bouts)
  • First and only fighter to win the UFC Middleweight and Light Heavyweight championships
  • Performance of the Night (Four times) vs. Andreas Michailidis, Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya 1, and Jiří Procházka
  • Fourth highest significant strike percentage in UFC history (62.8%)
  • 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.
• 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
  • 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

Professional record breakdown
12 matches	10 wins	2 losses
By knockout	8	1
By submission	0	1
By decision	2	0

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Win	10–2	Jamahal Hill	KO (punches)	UFC 300	13 April 2024	1	3:14	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Defended the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
Win	9–2	Jiří Procházka	TKO (elbows)	UFC 295	11 November 2023	2	4:08	New York City, New York, United States	Won the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Performance of the Night.
Win	8–2	Jan Błachowicz	Decision (split)	UFC 291	29 July 2023	3	5:00	Salt Lake City, Utah, United States	Light Heavyweight debut.
Loss	7–2	Israel Adesanya	KO (punches)	UFC 287	8 April 2023	2	4:21	Miami, Florida, United States	Lost the UFC Middleweight Championship.
Win	7–1	Israel Adesanya	TKO (punches)	UFC 281	12 November 2022	5	2:01	New York City, New York, United States	Won the UFC Middleweight Championship. Performance of the Night.
Win	6–1	Sean Strickland	KO (punches)	UFC 276	2 July 2022	1	2:36	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Performance of the Night.
Win	5–1	Bruno Silva	Decision (unanimous)	UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev	12 March 2022	3	5:00	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	4–1	Andreas Michailidis	TKO (flying knee and punches)	UFC 268	6 November 2021	2	0:18	New York City, New York, United States	Performance of the Night.
Win	3–1	Thomas Powell	KO (punch)	LFA 95	20 November 2020	1	4:04	Park City, Kansas, United States
Win	2–1	Marcus Vinicius da Silveira	TKO (punches)	Jungle Fight 87	21 May 2016	2	4:55	São Paulo, Brazil
Win	1–1	Marcelo Cruz	KO (punches)	Jungle Fight 85	23 January 2016	1	4:07	São Paulo, Brazil
Loss	0–1	Quemuel Ottoni	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Jungle Fight 82	24 October 2015	3	2:52	São Paulo, Brazil	Middleweight debut.

Pay-per-view bouts

No.	Event	Fight	Date	Venue	City	PPV buys
1.	UFC 281	Adesanya vs. Pereira	12 November 2022	Madison Square Garden	New York City, New York, United States	Not Disclosed
2.	UFC 287	Pereira vs. Adesanya 2	8 April 2023	Kaseya Center	Miami, Florida, United States	Not Disclosed
3.	UFC 295	Procházka vs. Pereira	11 November 2023	Madison Square Garden	New York City, New York, United States	Not Disclosed
4.	UFC 300	Pereira vs. Hill	13 April 2024	T-Mobile Arena	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Not Disclosed

Kickboxing record

Professional kickboxing record (incomplete)

33 wins (21 KOs), 7 losses (2 KOs)
Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Location	Method	Round	Time
2021-09-04	Loss	Artem Vakhitov	Glory 78: Rotterdam	Rotterdam, Netherlands	Decision (Majority)	5	3:00
Loses the Glory Light Heavyweight Championship.
2021-01-30	Win	Artem Vakhitov	Glory 77: Rotterdam	Rotterdam, Netherlands	Decision (Split)	5	3:00
Wins the Glory Light Heavyweight Championship.
2019-12-21	Win	Ertugrul Bayrak	Glory Collision 2	Arnhem, Netherlands	KO (Left Hook)	1	3:00
Defends the Glory Middleweight Championship.
2019-09-28	Win	Donegi Abena	Glory 68: Miami	Miami, United States	KO (Left Hook)	3	2:08
Wins the interim Glory Light Heavyweight Championship.
2019-05-17	Win	Jason Wilnis	Glory 65: Utrecht	Utrecht, Netherlands	KO (Left Flying Knee)	1	1:31
Defends the Glory Middleweight Championship.
2018-09-14	Win	Simon Marcus	Glory 58: Chicago	Chicago, United States	Decision (Unanimous)	5	3:00
Defends the Glory Middleweight Championship.
2018-07-20	Win	Yousri Belgaroui	Glory 55: New York	New York, United States	KO (Right Hook)	1	2:16
Defends the Glory Middleweight Championship.
2017-12-09	Win	Yousri Belgaroui	Glory 49: Rotterdam	Rotterdam, Netherlands	TKO (Doctor Stoppage)	3	1:54
Defends the Glory Middleweight Championship.
2017-10-14	Win	Simon Marcus	Glory 46: China	Guangzhou, China	Decision (Unanimous)	5	3:00
Wins the Glory Middleweight Championship.
2017-09-16	Win	Maycon Silva	WGP Kickboxing 40	Paraná, Brazil	KO (Left Hook)	2	2:00
Defends the WGP Kickboxing -85 kg title.
2017-04-29	Loss	Yousri Belgaroui	Glory 40: Copenhagen, Final	Copenhagen, Denmark	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00
2017-04-29	Win	Burim Rama	Glory 40: Copenhagen, Semi Final	Copenhagen, Denmark	TKO (Right Hook)	3	1:42
2017-03-04	Win	Israel Adesanya	Glory of Heroes 7	Sao Paulo, Brazil	KO (Left Hook)	3	N/A
2016-07-31	Loss	Artur Kyshenko	Kunlun Fight 48	Jining, China	TKO (Punches)	2	2:55
2016-05-08	Win	Junior Alpha	WGP Kickboxing 30	Brazil	KO (Right Hook)	4	N/A
2016-04-02	Win	Israel Adesanya	Glory of Heroes 1	China	Decision (Unanimous)	5	N/A
2015-07-25	Win	César Almeida	WGP Kickboxing 25	São Paulo, Brazil	Decision	5	3:00
Wins the vacant WGP Kickboxing -85 kg title.
2015-04-03	Loss	Jason Wilnis	Glory 20: Dubai - Middleweight Contender Tournament, Semi Finals	Dubai, UAE	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00
2014-12-20	Win	Ivan Galaz	WGP Kickboxing 24	São Paulo, Brazil	TKO (Three Knockdowns)	2	N/A
2014-09-27	Win	Robert Thomas	WGP Kickboxing 22	Brazil	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00
2014-06-21	Loss	Artem Levin	Glory 17: Los Angeles - Middleweight Last Man Standing Tournament, Quarter Finals	Inglewood, California, USA	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00
2014-04-26	Win	Aleksandr Dmitrenko	WGP SUPER 4	São Paulo, Brazil	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00
2014-03-08	Win	Sahak Parparyan	Glory 14: Zagreb - Middleweight Contender Tournament, Final	Zagreb, Croatia	Decision (Majority)	3	3:00
Wins the Glory Middleweight Contender Tournament.
2014-03-08	Win	Dustin Jacoby	Glory 14: Zagreb - Middleweight Contender Tournament, Semi Finals	Zagreb, Croatia	KO (Left Hook)	1	2:02
2013-12-21	Loss	César Almeida	WGP Kickboxing 17, Final	São Paulo, Brazil	Decision	3	N/A
2013-12-21	Win	Camilo Ferraz	WGP Kickboxing 17, Semi Final	São Paulo, Brazil	KO (Right Knee)	1	N/A
2013-08-24	Win	Matías Adaro	WGP Kickboxing 15	São Paulo, Brazil	KO (Right Cross)	2	N/A
Wins the WAKO Pro Panamerican -85 kg/187 lb Championship K-1 Rules.
2013-03-23	Win	César Almeida	SUPERKOMBAT New Heroes 2	São Caetano, Brazil	Decision (Unanimous)	3	N/A
2012-11-10	Loss	Jason Wilnis	It's Showtime 60	São Paulo, Brazil	TKO (Retirement)	2	N/A
Fight was for vacant It's Showtime 85MAX Championship.
2012-09-16	Win	Felipe Micheletti	WGP Kickboxing 9	São Paulo, Brazil	Decision (Unanimous)	3	N/A
2012-07-07	Win	Clei Silva	WGP Kickboxing, Final	São Paulo, Brazil	Decision	3	N/A
Wins the WGP Kickboxing -85 kg title.
2012-07-07	Win	Fabio Alberto	WGP Kickboxing, Semi finals	São Paulo, Brazil	KO	1	N/A
2012-03-31	Win	Clei Silva	Jungle Fight 37	São Paulo, Brazil	Decision (Unanimous)	3	N/A
Wins the Brazilian -85 kg/187 lb Championship K-1 Rules.

Amateur kickboxing record

Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Location	Method	Round	Time
2013-10	Loss	Sergej Maslobojev	W.A.K.O World Championships 2013, K-1 Final -91 kg	Guaruja, Brasil	Decision	3	2:00
Wins W.A.K.O. World Championship '13 K-1 Silver Medal -91 kg.
2013-10	Win	Mattia Faraoni	W.A.K.O World Championships 2013, K-1 Semi Finals -91 kg	Guaruja, Brasil	Decision (Split)	3	2:00
2013-10	Win	Selby Devereux	W.A.K.O World Championships 2013, K-1 Quarter Finals -91 kg	Guaruja, Brasil	Knockout	N/A	N/A
Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw/No contest       Notes

Professional boxing record

This template takes the following parameters, all of them self-explanatory:

• state—takes either collapsed or uncollapsed
• draws
• nc
• nws
• ko-wins
• ko-losses
• dec-wins
• dec-losses
• dq-wins
• dq-losses

{{BoxingRecordSummary
|draws=
|nc=
|nws=
|ko-wins=
|ko-losses=
|dec-wins=
|dec-losses=
|dq-wins=
|dq-losses=
}}

Everything defaults to zero, except for draws, nc, and nws, which default to not showing. Individual types of wins and losses will show only in the presence of either a win or a loss.

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
1	Win	1–0	Marcelo de Souza Cruz	TKO	3 (4)	Jun 17, 2017	Hotel Golden Park, Sorocaba, São Paulo, Brazil

See also

• List of current UFC fighters

External links

• Alex Pereira at Glory (kickboxing)
• Alex Pereira on Instagram

Achievements
Preceded by Israel Adesanya	5th UFC Middleweight Champion 12 November 2022 – 8 April 2023	Succeeded by Israel Adesanya
Preceded by Jamahal Hill Vacated	19th UFC Light Heavyweight Champion 11 November 2023 – present	Incumbent