Ex-UFC champion discusses Alex Pereira's plans to "fix some people's house" in Brazil as charity
Reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira is beheld as an MMA superstar who's also well-known for his charitable work. A former UFC champion has now shed light on Pereira's latest humanitarian project.
The champion in question is ex-UFC light heavyweight titleholder and Pereira's longtime mentor Glover Teixeira. He was born in Brazil and has been based in Connecticut, U.S.A. for several years, where he operates Teixeira MMA & Fitness. The Brazilian-American's gym routinely hosts elite fighters like himself, Pereira, and more.
During a recent appearance on ex-UFC welterweight and BKFC star Mike Perry's Overdogs Podcast, Teixeira was asked what made him and Pereira click. The 45-year-old responded by implying that they think alike and share similar interests, such as fighting.
Moreover, he alluded to being amazed by Pereira's humanitarianism. Teixeira suggested that, akin to how he'd helped better people's lives in Brazil, Pereira wants to similarly contribute to society's financially disadvantaged sections.
Teixeira further referenced his student's current stardom, indicating that 'Poatan' is now in a great position from where he could genuinely help make a difference with his social service:
"From the beginning when I come over here, he loves the way I was helping people in Brazil, taking people grocery store. He's all like, 'Oh, Glover, I wanna do this. You know? I wanna do that sometime.' And he start doing after his first couple of fights in UFC. Of course, he's growing now. Now he can do more, bigger, bigger things. A lot of trucks and different cities.
"Now he's talking to me about like, 'Hey, Glover, we gotta plan something to Brazil, we gotta fix some people's house, man.' He goes like, 'You say we go people's houses, they don't have a stove, they don't have roof over the top of the kitchen, the bathroom is not, the toilet not even works. So let's do something, so we can help some people there.' Great guy."
Watch the complete podcast episode below (comments at 31:40):
Alex Pereira's friendship with Glover Teixeira, charitable work in hometown
UFC light heavyweight kingpin Alex Pereira is known to be one of Glover Teixeira's closest friends at his gym, often referring to the former champ as his brother.
Meanwhile, Teixeira, who recently teased a UFC comeback after having retired in 2023, has often partaken in social welfare events with Pereira, including earlier this year.
Furthermore, another notable example of Pereira's charitable endeavors came last month. As seen on the UFC 307 Countdown episode, Pereira visited the Batistini neighborhood in Brazil, where he grew up.
'Poatan' recounted facing several hardships, highlighting that his reality used to be the same as the residents of that place. Emphasizing that he'd like to help them in any way he possibly can, Pereira distributed over a thousand boxes of food and other essential supplies to around a thousand families there.