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Alex Pereira Height, Age, Family, Biography

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Hometown: São Paulo, Brazil
Height: 6' 4"
Age: 37 Years

Alex Pereira

Bio/Wiki
Full NameAlex Sandro Silva Pereira
Other namePoatan
Profession(s)• Mixed Martial Artist
• Former Kickboxer
Physical Stats
Height (approx.)6' 4" (193 cm)
Weight (approx.)93 Kg (205 lbs)
Eye ColourBlack
Hair ColourBlack
MMA
Category• Middleweight (MMA, Kickboxing)
• Light heavyweight (MMA, Kickboxing)
• Cruiserweight (Boxing)
Trainers• Vinicius Reviravolta
• Glover Teixeira
• Plinio Cruz
Personal Life
Date of Birth7 July 1987 (Tuesday)
Age (as of 2024)37 Years
BirthplaceSão Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil
Zodiac signCancer
AutographAn autograph by Alex Pereira
NationalityBrazilian
HometownSão Paulo, Brazil
SchoolSchool Dropout
ReligionIslam
Food HabitNon-vegetarian
Tattoo(s)• On front side of his upper body
Alex Pereira's tattoos
• On his back
Alex Pereira's tattoos on his back
Social MediaInstagram
YouTube
Twitter
Relationships & More
Marital StatusDivorced
Affairs/Girlfriends• Merle Christine (ex-girlfriend) (MMA content creator)
Alex Pereira with his ex-fiancee
• Polyana Viana (rumoured; 2024)
Alex Pereira with Polyana Viana
Family
ChildrenSons- 2
• Alessandro Vidal Silva
• Lohan Vidal Silva
Alex Pereira with his sons
ParentsFather- Jair Pereira (former professional boxer)
Alex Pereira with his father and sister
Mother- Marilene Pereira
Alex Pereira with his mother
SiblingsSister- Aline Silva Pereira (younger; MMA fighter)
Alex Pereira and Aline Pereira
Style Quotient
Car CollectionChevrolet Corvette
Alex Pereira with his Chevrolet Corvette

Alex Pereira

Some Lesser Known Facts About Alex Pereira

  • Alex Pereira grew up in a favela in Brazil. After he stopped going to middle school, he began working as an assistant to a bricklayer. Later, he worked in a tyre shop.
  • During this time, he started drinking due to his colleagues’ influence and became an alcoholic.
  • In 2009, Alex Pereira started practising kickboxing to overcome his addiction.

    A picture of Alex Pereira showing his body transformation

    A picture of Alex Pereira showing his body transformation

  • On 8 March 2014, he won the Glory 14: Zagreb Middleweight Contender Tournament in Croatia. He defeated his opponent Dustin Jacoby by first-round knockout in the semi-finals and Sahak Parparyan by majority decision in the final.
  • Alex Pereira then competed in the Glory 17: Los Angeles Middleweight Tournament on 21 June 2014 and lost to Artem Levin by unanimous decision in the quarter-finals.
  • He fought at the ‘WGP Kickboxing 25’ and won the WGP Middleweight title by defeating his opponent César Almeida by decision.
  • Alex Pereira fought for the WGP KB title in the second round of the ‘WGP KB 40’ and defeated Maycon Silva.
  • In his next five fights, he lost four matches to Artur Kyshenko.

    Alex Pereira while fighting against Artur Kyshenko

    Alex Pereira while fighting against Artur Kyshenko

  • During this period, he achieved many victories over Israel Adesanya, winning once by unanimous decision and once by knockout.
  • Alex Pereira won the Glory Middleweight title with a unanimous decision against Simon Marcus at Glory 46: China.
  • He fought against Yousri Belgaroui at the Glory 40 and Glory 49 Superfight Series.
  • In 2018, Alex Pereira and Yousri Belgaroui fought again at Glory 55 in New York’s Madison Square Garden for the Middleweight Title Match. Pereira won with an overhand right knockout at 2:29 of Round 1. This victory marked Pereira’s 28th career win and sixth win inside the Glory ring.
  • In November 2018, he announced through social media that he would pursue an MMA career after his Glory contract expired in April 2019.
  • Alex Pereira then re-signed from Glory and started fighting in MMA.
  • He defended his Glory middleweight title four times, defeating Yousri Belgaroui, Simon Marcus, and Jason Wilnis.
  • Alex Pereira then fought with Donegi Abena for the interim Glory Light Heavyweight Championship at Glory 68. Pereira won by knockout in the third round and became Glory’s first double champion.

    Alex Pereira while fighting with Donegi Abena at Glory 68

    Alex Pereira while fighting with Donegi Abena at Glory 68

  • He challenged Artem Vakhitov for the Glory Light Heavyweight title at Glory 77. He won the fight by split decision, becoming the first fighter in Glory history to hold two belts simultaneously.
  • Later, his Middleweight title was taken away from him.
  • In his first title defence at Glory 78: Rotterdam, he fought again with Artem Vakhitov. Alex Pereira lost the rematch by majority decision after being deducted one point in round 4 for repeated clinching. Many accepted this decision as controversial.
  • He made his professional MMA debut in 2015 at Jungle Fight 82 and lost to Quemuel Ottoni by submission.
  • Alex Pereira continued at Jungle Fight, winning his next two fights by KO and TKO against Marcelo Cruz and Marcus Vinicius Silveira.
  • He announced a fight against Diego Henrique da Silva in the Brazilian edition of Dana White’s Contender Series on 10 August 2018, but Glory did not permit him to compete.
  • After this, he played for his middleweight title against Ertugrul Bayrak at Glory Collision 2 on 21 December 2019. He dominated the first round and won by knockout at the end of the round.
  • On 22 October 2020, Alex Pereira signed with Legacy Fighting Alliance and debuted against Thomas Powell on 20 November 2020. He won the match by knockout in the first round.

    Pereira fought against Thomas Powell on 20 November 2020

    Pereira fought against Thomas Powell on 20 November 2020

  • On 3 September 2021, he signed with the UFC.
  • Alex Pereira made his debut against Andreas Michailidis on 6 November 2021 at UFC 268 and won the match by technical knockout in round two. He then won a Performance of the Night award.
  • He then fought with Bruno Silva on 12 March 2022 at UFC Fight Night 203 and won the match by unanimous decision after outstriking Silva for all three rounds.
  • Alex Pereira faced Sean Strickland at UFC 276 on 2 July 2022. Pereira won the fight by defeating Strickland in the first round. He earned another Performance of the Night award and a Crypto.com Fan Bonus of the Night, which paid $10,000 in Bitcoin.
  • Pereira’s younger sister, Aline Pereira, competes for Glory and made her MMA debut on 8 November 2022.

    Alex Pereira while cheering up his younger sister after she won a match

    Alex Pereira while cheering up his younger sister after she won a match

  • On 12 November 2022, Alex Pereira fought against Israel Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 281 and won by technical knockout in the fifth round. He also won the Performance of the Night award.

    Alex Pereira during a match against Israel Adesanya in November 2022

    Alex Pereira during a match against Israel Adesanya in November 2022

  • On 8 April 2023, he again fought with Adesanya at UFC 287, where Pereira lost by knockout in the final minute of round two.
  • On 13 April 2023, Alex Pereira announced on one of his social media accounts that he was moving up to the Light Heavyweight division.
  • On 29 July 2023, he faced former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jan Błachowicz at UFC 291 and won the fight by split decision.
  • Alex Pereira then fought with former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jiří Procházka during the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship on 11 November 2023 at UFC 295 and won in the second round to claim the title.
  • Reportedly, until 2023, he and his ex-girlfriend took care of his two sons with his ex-wife. In 2024, he left her after he found that she was already married to someone else.

    Alex Pereira with his ex-girlfriend and two sons

    Alex Pereira with his ex-girlfriend and two sons

  • He made his first title defence against former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill on 13 April 2024 at UFC 300. He won by knockout in the first round with a left hook.
  • On 29 June 2024, Alex Pereira replaced the main event fight between Michael Chandler and Conor McGregor, who was injured, and faced Jiří Procházka in a rematch at UFC 303.

    Alex Pereira during a match with Jiří Procházka in 2024

    Alex Pereira during a match with Jiří Procházka in 2024

  • He defeated Procházka at the end of the first round with a left hook and won the game with a head kick followed by punches early in the second round. He then earned another $50,000 Performance of the Night award.
  • In an interview with a media house, Pereira’s coach said that Pereira received a $303,000 bonus for his performance at UFC 303.
  • Alex Pereira belongs to the Pataxó tribe.
  • His nickname “Poatan” means “Stone Hands” in the Tupi language. This name was given to him by his first kickboxing trainer, Belocqua Wera. Wera also helped him discover his native origin.