If Alex Pereira hadn’t done what he had done, his achievements would have beggared belief. After all, the Brazilian juggernaut has had perhaps the best run of any mixed martial artist in the history of the sport. Within seven fights in the UFC, Pereira clinched straps in two different divisions and since becoming the light heavyweight kingpin, he defended his belt three times in a record span of 175 days. And we haven’t even touched upon his kickboxing accolades and ‘ashes to phoenix’ life story!

But this run in the UFC and his recent title outings have made him the biggest active superstar in the sport. The face of MMA, if you will. But there is another reason for his popularity among fight fans. Pereira’s unique and magnetic persona, as well-regarded MMA coach Din Thomas recently pointed out.

“Some of them [his three light heavyweight title defenses] were short notice when they didn’t have main events. And he stepped up and took advantage of these opportunities, which just catapulted him into stardom,” Thomas told co-hosts Kamaru Usman and Dan Hellie on the ‘UFC Live’ show on ESPN MMA.

“And he has the most confusing persona I’ve seen. Like he’s so terrifying and so scary, but then he’s joking around and having fun. I don’t know how to I don’t know how to put a finger on what I think about him,” he added.

Indeed, ‘Poatan’ is usually a stoic, stone-faced killer who isn’t one for many words. However, at the same time, he is also a goofy, fun-loving guy who likes to laugh and have fun with his friends and can be pretty funny. He is also something of a troll, who enjoys making fun of people he doesn’t like, such as Jamahal Hill and Anthony Smith. But at the moment, the Brazilian must be deadly serious. After all, next weekend, he is going into perhaps the toughest light heavyweight fight of his illustrious UFC stint so far.

Alex Pereira faces a tough test at UFC 313 against Magomed Ankalaev

The only question left about Alex Pereira’s game is how he does against a proficient grappler. We do know he didn’t do well against Jan Blachowicz in their UFC 291 clash, as the Polish powerhouse gave the Brazilian hell with his excellent wrestling abilities. In fact, that was the toughest fight ‘Poatan’ has had at light heavyweight, only managing to secure a split decision victory over the Polish powerhouse.

But then again, there were some extenuating circumstances for the Brazilian in that fight. That was his 205-pound debut and the former middleweight champ probably wasn’t used to that weight and that size of opponent back then. However, none of those excuses would be available to Pereira next week when he takes on Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313.

Ankalaev, who hails from Dagestan, has a good ground game, even if he likes to do his best work on the feet. And most expect him to try and take down ‘Poatan’ early and often and try to maul him there. On the other hand, even if Pereira is exclusively a striker, he earned a BJJ black belt under his coach Plinio Cruz after his UFC 300 stint against Jamahal Hill. And UFC 313 will probably give us the answer to just how good ‘Poatan’s ground game actually is. What do you think about Din Thomas’ take on Alex Pereira’s persona?