2024 is the year of Alex Pereira. Stepping up on short notice, the Brazilian saved the UFC 303 pay-per-view (PPV) card. Moreover, he earned a rare $303,000 POTN Bonus. More like a ‘Poatan’ bonus, his short-work knockout might already be yet another knockout-of-the-year candidate. However, the 36-year-old does not care and has returned to training.
‘Poatan’ picked up his second light heavyweight title defense this past Saturday. He answered Jiri Prochazka with on-point striking and a vicious head kick at the 0:13 mark of R2. Carrying an injury from his last appearance in April, Pereira hurt his left toe again with the impact on the face wobble. However, he is already back training at Teixeira MMA & Fitness Gym.
Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) hasn’t released a clinical suspension statement yet. But even in clear-cut wins like Pereira’s knockout, it’s pretty routine for commissions to recommend no contact for a week. Nevertheless, Alex Pereira lives up to his proper stoicism and goes on grinding. It’s a whole new angle for “the double-champ does what the double-champ wants!“
Defend UFC title on Saturday ✅
Put toes back into place after scoring vicious head kick KO ✅
Return to sparring on Monday ✅Alex Pereira is a savage. pic.twitter.com/LbV5edH3aT
— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) July 1, 2024
Pereira KO’ed Jamahal Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) with a mammoth undercut shovel hook in April’s historic PPV event. Hill’s dangerous knockout raised the questions of a medical suspension for him. As would for Prochazka, for sure. When it’s out, the UFC 303 medical suspension information might just have Pereira on it as well. Till then, it appears nothing can put Poatan out of training.
Jamahal Hill is all praise for Alex Pereira after UFC 303
Jamahal Hill certainly had his eyes peeled on the UFC 303 main event this past weekend. It was his prodigal light heavyweight gold on the guard, after all. ‘Sweet Dreams’ fell short of gold at UFC 300’s pay-per-view feature headliner. Pereira (11-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC so far) made his maiden defense against him and is now 2-0 in title defenses against former champions at 205.
Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira catches rare praise after UFC 303’s tactility knockout (Source: talksport.com/X)Even hardcore Alex Pereira fans had a seedling of doubt that Hill might return better. The same doubt came on when Prochazka felt ready to rematch him. Saturday night saw ‘Poatan’ return better, where he beat Prochazka more dominantly than the first time around. Hill broke the fight down in a video on his YouTube channel.
Great main event, absolutely dominant performance by Alex from start to finish. I believe this is honestly probably the first that I’ve seen where Alex came out and won the fight from start…The adjustment that I seen that Alex made from that was the check hook…you see him in come..and he tries to land it leaning in and throwing his power forward.
Jamahal Hill via his Official YT Channel (@ChampChatPodcast)
In the lead-up to this rematch, much was made of how Prochazka won his first fight with ‘Poatan’ until the blindsiding left hook. The Brazilian orthodox is a shock-and-awe kickboxer who does not play the point game. More to it, Pereira acts like a tactile tidal wave; Hill lauded the left hook that spelled the beginning of the end yet again in the first round.
Hill analyzed how, unlike at UFC 295, Pereira adjusted to land it definitively as a counter while also moving away. Fighter to fighter, skill to skill, he can’t ignore these pointers. But, given the opportunity, he has similar vicious intentions ahead.
