Dana White Amazed by Alex Pereira’s $12.4M Success Brands the Brazilian as Mega Box Office Attraction for UFC 300

When Dana White announced the main event of UFC 300, fans did not seem to be impressed since they had been waiting for someone like Jon Jones or Conor McGregor to fight. However, The UFC CEO believes that Alex Pereira has earned the right to become a main eventer, and even called ‘Poatan’ a box office attraction for the promotion.

UFC 295 was a landmark occasion for Alex Pereira. Not only did he defeat former champion Jiri Prochazka to become a two-weight champion, he also helped UFC make a gate total of $12.4 million, just short of Conor McGregor’s achievement of a total gate of $17.7 million for UFC 205. As such, Dana White seems to be impressed with Alex Pereira and shared a few words of praise for the light heavyweight champion.

Dana White hails Alex Pereira as Brazil’s biggest star

During a recent interview on ESPN’s ‘Hot Take’, host Stephen A. Smith talked about the upcoming UFC 300 pay-per-view this weekend in Las Vegas and asked Dana White about Alex Pereira, who’s grown to become one of the most must-watch fighters in the promotion. Dana White seemed to agree with Smith and even agreed to the fact that there is no doubt about ‘Poatan’ being a box office attraction for the CEO. “I agree [that Pereira is box office],” voiced White.

The 54-year-old further mentioned that the nation of Brazil has been home to some of the best MMA fighters on the planet and Alex Pereira has now established himself to be the biggest star of them all. “When you think about Brazil, Brazil is where it all started… There have always been these huge stars that have come out of Brazil. He [Alex Pereira] is the new big star for Brazil,” he added. In addition to the words of praise, the UFC CEO also explained why he believes Pereira to be the superstar he is.

White loves ‘Poatan’s ability to knock people out

Dana White is well-versed with the kind of impact Alex Pereira had in the world of kickboxing. Furthermore, the fact that he is the only one to win the middleweight and the light heavyweight title in the quickest time has already made the Brazilian a superstar, according to Dana White. He further stated, “He’s one of the greatest kickboxers ever, he’s the first and only fighter to win the middleweight and light heavyweight titles… he did it in two years and seven fights.”

Out of the seven fights Alex Pereira has had so far, he has registered six wins and four of them have come by knockouts. Fighters like Israel Adesanya and Jiri Prochazka, who’ve been at the top of the mountain in their respective divisions and had never succumbed to a knockout defeat until they faced ‘Poatan’ inside the Octagon. That’s what Dana White finds intriguing about the Brazilian ace. “When you think about a guy like this, Alex knocks people out who have never been knocked out before. The guy is an absolute stud,” the UFC CEO added.

Alex Pereira will be putting his title up for grabs for the first time in arguably the biggest UFC event in history. He is the favorite to win the fight, as Jamahal Hill will be on the hunt to regain the championship he never lost. What are your predictions for the main event of UFC 300? Drop your comments below.

Read More: UFC 300: Alex Pereira’s Ex, Merle Claims Jamahal Hill Will KO ‘Poatan’ Inside 3 Rounds Owing to a Major Flaw in the LHW Champ’s Gameplan