Alex Pereira doesn’t have the belt but he’s the UFC’s true BMF champion. ‘Poatan’ has already secured his sport in the UFC Hall of Fame just 12 fights into his MMA career after becoming a two-weight champion in a historically quick fashion, The Brazilian has also earned a legion of fans due to his fighting style, vicious knockout power and willingness to face anyone, anywhere, anytime. Ahead of his short-notice light heavyweight title rematch with Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 on Saturday night, talkSPORT.
com have looked back at Pereira ’s top five BMF moments. Pereira made his name in kickboxing where he was a two-weight world champion and a thorn in the side of Israel Adesanya. The 36-year-old beat ‘Stylebender’ twice and forced him to change sports after their 2017 rematch ended with Pereira scoring a vicious KO that left his rival needing urgent medical attention.
Adesanya became a champion and a massive star in the UFC. During an interview in 2020, he angered Pereira by claiming ‘no one knows who the f*** he is’. So, Pereira switched sports and KO’d Adesanya again at UFC 281 in November 2022.
And even though he lost their MMA rematch last year, Pereira’s willingness to chase a rival to a new sport was appreciated. Three fights after getting choked out in his MMA debut , Pereira was signed to the sport’s best promotion because of his kickboxing pedigree and rivalry with Adesanya. Naysayers insisted he would never reach the top because he started the .
