UFC star Alex Pereira racked up titles in every sport and promotion he fought for. The Brazilian fighter’s pinnacle of excellence came in November last year when he crossed paths with his kickboxing rival, Israel Adesanya, albeit with different rules and circumstances. Not only did he reign supreme over the New Zealander, but he also took the UFC gold home at UFC 281 at the reputed Madison Square Garden. While the middleweight fighter is still polishing his MMA skills, prior to his late transition to the sport he amassed a splendid kickboxing resume. The ‘Poatan’ dominated the kickboxing spheres with his prolific knockout skills. His two victories over ‘The Last Stylebender’ and his ‘champ-champ’ status in Glory bears testament to this.
Alex Pereira Kickboxing Career
The Sao Paulo native began his kickboxing career in 2012 at Jungle Fight 37 in Brazil, picking up a win via unanimous decision. Barely able to meet his ends, Pereira dropped out of school and began working in a tire shop. Under the influence of his peers, he developed an alcohol problem and picked up kickboxing in order to get rid of this vicious addiction.
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After his debut, he fought under the banner of WGP Kickboxing and Glory Kickboxing. The first highlight of the Pataxó tribe representative came in 2012 when he won the WGP 85kg title. Following this, he announced himself in Glory as he won the Glory Contender Middleweight Tournament in 2014.
In October 2017, the former kickboxer received his first opportunity at the title shot against Simon Marcus. Maintaining his dominant style, and looking unbeatable in every frame of the contest, he collected a unanimous decision and also the Glory Middleweight championship.
In the lead-up to the title push, the middleweight fighter met Israel Adesanya for the first time at Glory of Heroes 1 in Shenzhen, China. And collected a win due to a higher damage score. The pair met once again in 2017 and the Glory champion caught him lacking in the final round.
Recalling the fight, the Nigerian-Kiwi fighter once said, “He came in ready, walking me down, throwing, throwing, and then went boom, caught me, and that was all she wrote. That was me not staying true to my style.”
Alex Pereira Kickboxing Record
The Teixeira MMA & Fitness representative holds a professional record of 33-7. Markedly, 21 of those victories came via knockouts.
Alex Pereira UFC Record
Signing up with UFC in 2021, the former Glory superstar took little time to adjust. He is currently 4-0 in the promotion.
Before his championship bout against Israel Adesanya, he amassed impressive wins over Bruno Silva and significantly Sean Strickland at UFC 276.
Alex Pereira knockouts
Besides his rematch knockout win against Adesanya, he defeated Yousri Belgaroui for his second middleweight title defense. Previously, Belgaroui had handed Pereira a loss that triggered an unbeaten run and lasted till his last fight in the promotion.
After 4 straight title defenses, Pereira moved up and matched up with Donegi Abena with the interim light heavyweight title on the line. With his patented left hook, he finished the fight in the third round, and his opponent lay face flat on the mat.
The 7-1 record holder, before moving up, squared off against long-time rival Jason Wilnis in his 4th defense. Significantly, Wilnis held the upper hand in both their encounters. Only one of two men to finish Pereira, however, took a flying knee in round 1 in their trilogy. And thus, couldn’t continue further.
Alex Pereira becomes the unified double champion
After his 5th middleweight defense, Pereira was awarded the opportunity to become a two-division simultaneous champion. Facing an uphill task, he booked a date with dominant champion Artem Vakhitov at Glory 77 in January 2021.
The closely contested went the distance, and the judges scored the split decision in Pereira’s favor. Thus, elevating him to the status of ‘champ-champ’
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All about Alex Pereira’s next fight, UFC 287
Alex Pereira will face his arch-rival Israel Adesanya in their high-voltage UFC rematch at UFC 287. The showdown on April 8 in Miami’s Miami-Dande Arena will be their fourth encounter overall with the UFC gold on the line.
Since their last bout in November 2022, Adesanya took a brief break and will endeavor to settle the scores. On the other hand, Pereira will hold on to the title he lay claim to recently.
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What do you think of this splendid kickboxing record of UFC champion Alex Pereira? Do you believe the Brazilian fighter will successfully defend his title at UFC 287? Let us know in the comments below.
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