Alex Pereira is one of the most successful combat sports athletes in the world. The Brazilian fighter is the only person to become a two-division champion in both kickboxing and MMA. ‘Poatan’ held the Glory Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Championship before joining the UFC. Furthermore, he won the UFC Middleweight and Light Heavyweight straps with just seven fights in the promotion.
However, his life was completely different 12 years ago. MMA fans on Reddit found an obscure image of Alex Pereira on Google Maps when he was working at a tire shop. Furthermore, the exact address can be seen in the image dated March 2011. During that time, Pereira was an alcoholic who used to work at a shop in Brazil.
Mfs on Reddit found Alex Pereira on Google Maps working at a tire shop 😂
12 years later he’s the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. pic.twitter.com/Y5pXOJBj22
— notNotorious (@Notori6us) November 15, 2023
A young Alex Pereira can be seen inside the show in the viral image. In just 12 years, ‘Poatan’ turned his whole life around by becoming a bona fide star in both Glory and the UFC. Pereira started to train in kickboxing to battle his alcohol addiction. Furthermore, this turned out to be a great decision, as he went on to win the Glory Middleweight Championship in 2017 and the Glory Light Heavyweight Championship in 2019.
Furthermore, he went on to capture two championships in the UFC in just two years. Alex Pereira’s inspiring story will definitely motivate many people to never give up on their dreams. However, ‘Poatan’ credits a bitter rival for motivating him to embark on this fighting journey.
Alex Pereira credits Israel Adesanya for getting him off the barstool
After his historic victory over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295, ‘Poatan’ made a very surprising callout to his rival, Israel Adesanya. Alex and Israel go way back, as they competed twice in the kickboxing ring before clashing in the UFC. Pereira defeated Adesanya twice in kickboxing and once in MMA; however, Izzy got his revenge by knocking out ‘Poatan’ at UFC 287.
Furthermore, Pereira changed his division, and it looked like the rivalry was over. However, this recent callout indicates that ‘Poatan’ wants to get back the win against Izzy. During the call-out, Alex Pereira made a shocking revelation about how Adesanya motivated him to make his MMA return.
“There’s a guy that back in the day he did some interviews and said I was the guy who was just going to stay in in the bar…That motivated me. He rescued me from a bar to be here today,” said Pereira. Furthermore, ‘Poatan’ said that he wanted to return the favor by rescuing Adesanya.
Israel Adesanya said that he will take a break until 2027, but Pereira thinks that it is a waste of his talent. “I want to rescue him too, to come here and fight,” said ‘Poatan’. However, Izzy doesn’t want to be rescued, as he has responded to this message from his bitter rival.
Let it gooooo 🎶 pic.twitter.com/gv9ZYliKwH
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) November 12, 2023
Adesanya posted a video from UFC 287 where Alex is knocked out. Furthermore, he wrote, “lol rent free…I sleep good,” in the photo. He also added the caption, “Let it go” to add insult to injury.
Will Israel Adesanya move to light heavyweight to fight against Alex Pereira or Poatan will move to middleweight to fight Izzy once again? Let us know in the comments section.
