Alex Pereira's coach reveals that 'Poatan' received $303,000 bonus for his UFC 303 victory: "Buy a supercar with that"
Alex Pereira had quite a weekend as his coach recently revealed that he walked out of UFC 303 this past Saturday with a $303,000 bonus. The Brazilian had an incredible performance as he earned a second-round TKO over Jiri Prochazka to successfully retain his light heavyweight championship.
'Poatan' took a massive risk by agreeing to step in and defend his title on short notice after Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler was postponed due to the Irishman's injury. That risk ended up working out for him as it has now resulted in him being regarded as being one of the top stars in the UFC for his willingness to step in when called upon.
During his appearance on today's episode of The MMA Hour, the Brazilian's coach, Plinio Cruz stated that his pupil basically convinced Dana White to award him a bonus. Cruz mentioned that during the conversation with White, Pereira brought up being snubbed of a bonus at UFC 300, which resulted in the UFC CEO agreeing to the reward. Cruz said:
"[UFC] gave $300,000 bonus on 300 and he did not got Performance of the Night, they gave two for Max [Holloway]... because of all of the history and they take the fight on two weeks' [notice] and Dana look at him and say, 'You know what, man, I'm gonna take care of you. You've got the $303[000].' He even joke, he say, 'Buy a supercar with that money.' [Pereira] go, 'I got enough supercars.' He wants a Cybertruck."
Check out Plinio Cruz's comments regarding Alex Pereira below:
Plinio Cruz explains how he got Alex Pereira mentally prepared for UFC 303
Alex Pereira not only took a risk by agreeing to step in and defend his title on short notice, but he also took on the added pressure of headlining UFC 303 replacing Conor McGregor.
During the aforementioned interview, Plinio Cruz described how he ensured his pupil was mentally prepared. Cruz mentioned that he didn't want Pereira to feel the need to carry the weight of the event on his shoulders, and so he took a unique approach. He said:
"This time, we're not gonna get no Airbnb, we're not gonna get no big house, not gonna bring a whole entourage... We're gonna stay at the fighters' hotel, we're gonna go over there like we're gonna fight on the undercard, win this fight and go back home."
Check out Plinio Cruz's comments regarding Alex Pereira below: