Years from now Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira would not be famed for his meteoric rise to fame. He would not be characteristically iconic for mauling through former champs. He would not be infamous as a double-division or even possibly triple-division glory hunter or as the hallmark of the ultimate kickboxer. Instead, he would be the fighter who goes awkwardly viral for shadowboxing instantaneously!
Alex Pereira was seen shadowboxing out on the Rochina favelas on Sunday, in the vicinity of UFC 301. UFC 301 (Pay-per-view, ESPN+) happened in Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian native was in attendance and even shot a promo tease for a quick turnaround on the card. Now, he is out throwing air jabs on the street for seemingly another feature promo, while overhead cameras pan across.
Fight and venue snaps lay under Jason Silva of USAToday Sports, for UFC 301. Zuffa LLC, ESPN MMA & others have their photography grind. Pereira’s manager, Jorge Guimarães hasn’t nudged any tie-ups for a promotional shoot. But camera personnel can be seen shooting the fighter throwing air shots. The last promotional collaboration he did was for an ‘Alpha Fight Series‘ event.
The presence of cameramen hasn’t stopped fans from quipping that the stoic fighter inclines to shadowbox now and then, on a whim. From ‘blink-and-miss punch’ shots to extensive “rabona” calf kick counters, he does it all. He has a brilliant battle IQ and has even showcased immense prowess on Brazilinator machines. Not all that surprising that he’d randomly shadowbox, even if not for a promo.
Alex Pereira played an active part in UFC 301’s home crowd
UFC’s fifth PPV event for the 2024 season rolled up from inside the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Dione Barbosa, Maurucio Ruffy, Iasmin Lucindo, Jose Aldo, and champ Alexandre Pantoja all won big. Other Brazilian peers were in attendance as well, including Alex Pereira.
Pereira had met up with Diego Lopes, Charles Oliveira, and Gilbert Burns. Crowd-favorite Mexican undisputed WMMA strawweight champ Alexa Grasso also joined in. Periera would also later go on to congratulate Aldo after his epic win in the bantamweight co-mains scrap against Jonathan Martinez.
Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira mingles with native peers as UFC returns to Brazil for UFC 301 (Source: ESPN MMA (@espnmma) / X / IG, @alexpoatanpereira) Pereira, 10-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC, KO’ed Jamahal Hill at UFC 300 in his maiden defense. At the heel of the enormous trifecta event, the Brazilian helped promote UFC 301’s card as well. UFC’s “Embedded” Vlog sees him spoofing a contract signing and throwing some air jabs for a promo shoot. Notably, instead of his black /gold stripes, Pereira sports just a black contender short, hinting at a return at 301, to hype it up.
He was last at a UFC Brazil event when mentor Glover Teixeira lost out to Hill at UFC 283. Coming full circle, now he attended with Teixeira and his Pataxó tribal leader, who fashions his famous Brazilian War paint and headgear. He has famously sported them in staredowns against Israel Adesnaya and Jiri Prochazka. All in all, Pereira’s presence and efforts have been a magnet to the local crowd.
