Joaquin Buckley reacts to Alex Pereira being given 100 punch power in EA Sports UFC 5

Alex Pereira has maxed out one aspect of his stats in the latest update in the UFC video game, and fellow UFC fighter Joaquin Buckley has commented on this development.

The Instagram account @espnmma shared some stat updates for Pereira's avatar in the UFC 5 video game. Pereira's 'Accuracy' score went up two points, reaching 99, and his 'Kick Power' score remained the same as before at 98. His 'Punch Power,' however, is now at 100, up three points from the last update.

Check out the post below:

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Instagram Post

Many fans and fighters commented on this update, with Buckley being one of them. 'New Mansa' post a GIF, a screenshot of which can be seen below:

[Image Courtesy: @espnmma Instagram comment section]

Alex Pereira and the dubious numbers shown on punching machines

Alex Pereira has demonstrable punching power based on his fight results but his stats on punching machines have generated a lot of discourse this year. Ahead of his UFC 300 fight in April, Pereira broke the PowerKube record that was held by lineal MMA heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.

The 37-year-old broke a record held by Ngannou since 2018 with a score of 191.8, compared to 'The Predator,' who got 129. Many saw this as impressive, but the credibility of these machines has come into further question within the last few days.

This was underscored by online influencer and streamer iShowSpeed breaking the record of the two-weight division UFC champion at Fanatics Fest last Friday on an arcade punch machine. 'Poatan' scored 907 on that machine, while iShowSpeed registered a punch velocity metric of 921.

Pereira has enjoyed a stellar run in 2024 so far, defending his light heavyweight belt against former champions Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill, both times on relatively short notice. He will look to make his third title defense later this year at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City against Khalil Rountree Jr.