The UFC is an organization of opportunity, but some stars shine brighter than others. Enter Alex Pereira, the Brazilian powerhouse who has taken the UFC by storm. In just 1000 days since his debut, Pereira has accomplished in PPV events what many fighters only dream of in their entire career.
Let’s focus on the numbers Alex Pereira pulls in. He has headlined two of the top four highest-grossing events in UFC history. He’s not just winning fights; he’s winning wallets too. UFC 300 and UFC 303 both featured Pereira in the main event, and the PPV live gate was massive.
UFC 300, where Pereira faced off against Jamahal Hill, brought in a whopping $16.5 million in live gate revenue. He wowed the crowd with a first-round knockout. Then came UFC 303, pitting Pereira in a rematch against Jiri Prochazka. This also ended in a second-round head kick KO by Pereira. This event pulled in an impressive $15.9 million.
Alex Pereira has now headlined two of the top 4 highest gates in UFC history:
1. UFC 205 – McGregor vs Alvarez ($17.7M)
2. UFC 229 – Khabib vs McGregor ($17.2M)
3. UFC 300 – Pereira vs Hill ($16.5M)
4. UFC 303 – Pereira vs Prochazka 2 ($15.9M)#UFC #MMA #UFC303 pic.twitter.com/HaxW68Iab3— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 30, 2024
The only events topping these are headlined by the Irish superstar Conor McGregor. The highest UFC live gate features McGregor vs Eddie Alvarez, garnering $17.7 million in PPV sales. The next on the list is the fight between McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. This heated event raked in $17.2 million. As for Pereira, he has accomplished more than 99.9 % of the fighters. Plus, he shows no sign of stopping.
Alex Pereira’s ascent to double champ status
Some stories are simply extraordinary in MMA. Alex Pereira, the Brazilian powerhouse, is a prime example of this. He rewrote the UFC record books. In just two years, he became the fastest double champion in UFC history. He captured the middleweight and the light heavyweight belts, something no one expected when he made his UFC debut.
Alex Pereira’s journey to double champ status (via Reddit)Most fighters spend years honing their craft before even sniffing a title shot. However, Pereira just waltzed into the UFC and started collecting belts. Before the UFC, Pereira was part of the GLORY Kickboxing. He was also a double champion there. So basically, Pereira is a 4-time champion in 2 weight classes in 2 different organizations.
• 12 MMA fights
• Signed 3 years ago
• MW champion
• LHW champion
• Victories over 5 champs
• Became a double champ in 2 years
• 1st rd KO in the main event of UFC 300
• Will headline UFC 303/IFW on short noticeAlex Pereira is a truly special fighter pic.twitter.com/UAzi602f0R
— OOC MMA (@oocmma) June 14, 2024
‘Poatan’ means “Hands of Stone” in his native Tupi and has lived up to his moniker. His left-hand touches the opponent, and they go down. In just his fourth UFC fight, Pereira knocked out Israel Adesanya to claim the middleweight title. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, he then moved up to light heavyweight.
In his seventh UFC bout, he knocked out Jiri Prochazka to become a two-division champion. The question now remains: what’s next for this Brazilian striking phenom? More title defenses? A move to heavyweight? Anything seems possible.
