Who has Alex Pereira fought in the UFC?
Alex Pereira has fought Andreas Michailidis, Bruno Silva and Sean Strickland in his UFC career. He is currently undefeated in the promotion with a record of 3-0 and holds an overall MMA record of 6-1.
'Poatan' made his UFC debut against Andreas Michailidis at UFC 268. The Brazilian finished Michailidis in the first round via a flying knee and punches. He won a Performance of the Night bonus for the fight.
His next bout in the UFC was against Bruno Silva at UFC Fight Night 203 where he won a unanimous decision.
Alex Pereira next faced No.7-ranked UFC middleweight Sean Strickland at UFC 276. He knocked the American out in the first round, which earned him another Performance of the Night bonus.
Following his win over Strickland, Alex Pereira went from an unranked fighter to No.6 on the UFC's middleweight roster.
Alex Pereira will next face middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 281 on November 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. 'Poatan' is the only man to have knocked out Adesanya in his entire fighting career.
Watch the fight preview for Adesanya vs. Pereira below:
Alex Pereira started fighting to battle his alcohol addiction
Alex Pereira was born in São Bernardo do Campo, a municipality in São Paulo, Brazil. He grew up in a favela and dropped out of school at the age of 12 to work at a tire shop. This came with its share of troubles, as a 13-year-old Pereira started consuming alcohol due to the influence of his colleagues.
'Poatan' started training in kickboxing in 2009 to battle his alcohol addiction. Just three months into his training, the Brazilian had his first kickboxing bout. Pereira's struggle with alcohol issues continued. Three years into kickboxing, he was still struggling with alcoholism despite being a national champion.
In 2012, Pereira made the decision to kick the habit and focus on his fighting career. He has reportedly not touched a drop of alcohol since.
Pereira details his issues with alcohol addiction on Nem Me Viu with Fabricio Werdum:
Pereira is a four-time GLORY kickboxing champion, a two-time WGP kickboxing champion, and a WAKO kickboxing champion. He racked up a kickboxing record of 33-7.
'Poatan' is currently surging through the middleweight division of the UFC and is set to face his former kickboxing foe Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 281. Pereira has two wins in kickboxing over Adesanya, having knocked 'The Last Stylebender' out in their second meeting.