WATCH: Glover Teixeira pulls off a hilarious makeup prank on Alex Pereira
Glover Teixeira hilariously pranked Alex Pereira behind the scenes during UFC 287's media day.
Pereira is set to face Israel Adesanya in UFC 287's main-event this weekend. 'Poatan' is heading into the bout as the reigning middleweight champion, first winning the title from 'The Last Stylebender' via a fifth-round TKO at UFC 281.
Their rematch is the fourth fight between them but their second under the UFC banner. The Brazilian currently holds two wins in kickboxing and one in MMA over the Kiwi fighter.
Teixeira has been alongside Alex Pereira as part of his coaching team ever since he joined the Teixeira MMA & Fitness team in 2020. Under the tutelage of the former light heavyweight champ and coach Vinicius Reviravolta, 'Poatan' has won five fights in a row, including capturing the UFC's 185lb strap.
Now, in a video doing the rounds on Twitter, Teixeira is clearly keeping the pressure off of Pereira by keeping things light amongst their camp. The former-fighter-turned prankster took over from a make-up artist who worked on Pereira and applied his make-up until the middleweight champ opened his eyes and was given a fright.
Check out the hilarious moment here:
Glover pranking Pereira again 😂 https://t.co/AdG07Et7zh
Israel Adesanya confident he can finally defeat Alex Pereira at UFC 287
Despite being down 3-0 in their unofficial head-to-head, Israel Adesanya is as confident as ever that he's going to get the job done against Alex Pereira.
'The Last Stylebender' was only minutes away from his first victory against 'Poatan' at UFC 281 before losing the bout in the fifth round. Prior to the TKO, 'Izzy' was up on all three judges' scorecards.
In a recent appearance on the DC & RC show, the No.1 ranked middleweight explained why he believes he's going to win. According to Adesanya, Pereira's ability to snatch a victory from the clutches of defeat provided him with a challenge that he's now overcome. The 33-year-old stated:
"F**k all the bulls**t. He [Alex Pereira] and I know, f**k the fans, the reporters, all that. He and I know exactly what I can do to him. I know what he can do to me. Each time I've fought him, I'm always winning until I'm not. If it was like say he just beat my ass from f**king bell to bell then f**k it. I'd probably still be this confident, I'd still talk s**t, but it's not been the case."
Adesanya added:
"I'm always beating him, I'm always dominating him until he finds that way to win. That gives me a challenge. I love challenges. It gives me a challenge to rise to the occasion. Example - this weekend, it gives me an opportunity to remind and show people how great I am. I love being in this position because not everybody can be in this position and thrive. I can."
Catch Izzy's comments here (51:10):