Alex Pereira talks significance of his tattoos with Anthony Smith after the two embrace and settle their beef: "There's no bitterness"
Alex Pereira recently opened up about the significance of his tattoos during a conversation with Anthony Smith and explained the sentiment behind them. After their cordial chat, they also buried the hatchet and settled their differences.
Ahead of his upcoming title clash against Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307, 'Poatan' sat down with Smith for an interview, and the two spoke about various topics. During their chat, 'Lionheart' wanted to know the meaning behind Pereira's tattoos and asked him to break them down for him.
The Brazilian stated that he always wanted to get inked and revealed that his first tattoo was a dragon on his right arm. Pereira pointed out that he also had a dragon tattoo on his back and admitted that most of his ink art didn't mean anything except that he found them cool. He said:
"I think dragons were popular... Everyone was getting dragons, it was a trend, so I got a dragon. It has no meaning."
Smith later asked Pereira about getting UFC belts tattooed on both his biceps. The reigning 205-pound champion explained that his title wins were achievements that would stay with him forever and symbolize the culmination of his life's hard work.
Furthermore, Pereira addressed getting stones tattooed on the back of his hand and revealed it was the tattoo that hurt the most. Pereira's face painting was also a topic of discussion, and the Brazilian explained what it represented. He said:
"The animals represent everything, the indigenous side, the indigenous reasons, the drawings, it means strength, a symbol of war."
Catch Alex Pereira's comments below (2:14):
Alex Pereira settles beef with Anthony Smith after months of feuding
During the same interview, Alex Pereira and Anthony Smith cordially buried the hatchet and set their differences aside. Over the past several months, the two UFC stars have engaged in a war of words on social media and appeared keen to throw down in the cage to settle their beef.
After Smith's win over Vitor Petrino at UFC 301, Pereira issued a $50,000 grappling challenge, which 'Lionheart' accepted. While the match never came to fruition, the two continued exchanging shots on social media and in interviews. However, all that appears to be a thing of the past now.
During their recent sit-down on the Lionheart Lounge show, Smith expressed his heartfelt respect and appreciation for Pereira and his team. Pereira reciprocated the sentiment and said:
"I am thankful to you for reaching out. Ever since you spoke to Glover [Teixeira], I don’t think there is any malice, there’s no bitterness about the back-and-forths that we had. Today, I’m much better, I feel good. Chama." [8:30]