Brazil is a country of cultures. 215 million people proudly carry its flag every day. A land of coffee growers, of samba, of natural riches and unimaginable paradises in the fantasies of the most eloquent people. Cradle of the Amazonian Indians, those individuals incommunicado for more than 3,000 years with the population that decides to follow the natural course of the development of the world society. 800,000 souls accept the challenge of surviving the challenges of the great jungle, where 305 ethnic groups of 274 different languages coexist. Far from the comfort of the modern world, protected by the millenary heritage of the bow and arrow. An indispensable and non-negotiable instrument. Life or death, in their domain. Alex Pereira's veins distribute indigenous blood. It is a product of the lungs of the world. Its rivers, unheard species and the courage that the human being requires to be born in order to fulfill the obligatory needs that the capricious evolution deposits on us, run at dizzying speeds through the body of 'Poatan', current UFC light heavyweight champion.
Faced with the challenge of finding a better life, Alex Pereira 's grandparents decide to raise their children far from the jungle. The champion's parents learn under a culture with strong roots oriented to the heart of the Amazon, but decide to wait until the adolescence of the young Pereira to tell the factors that also make him a product of those incommunicado, who survive under the millennial bubble of the Amazon jungle. An odyssey that traps, and that makes the skin of the individual a different armor. The ingredients change and, with it, their character and mentality. Two different worlds.
From the workshop and alcohol to saving his life through kickboxing.
The culture of the Pataxó, the village of origin of his ancestors, has remained linked to the young Pereira ever since. At the age of 12, the Carioca decided to leave school to immerse his aspirations in the tiny working world of the favelas, where he found a small haven in a mechanic's workshop, for which he worked twelve hours a day. The passing of the years advances Pereira's early maturity, and so does the age of the individuals who form his circle. Inevitably, the bad life knocks at the Brazilian's door and, after opening it, a world of alcohol and bad routines enters his life. A liter of rum a day is what Pereira begins to consume when he wants to assimilate that it is too late to remedy it through his own mind, without outside help. At the age of 16, and with the goal of defeating the cruel demon of the forbidden elixir, the champion decides to start a close relationship with kickboxing, the sport that saved his life.
Discipline that also links from very early on to the depths of the jungle. Everyone knows his nickname. The word 'Poatan' appears next to his face when one wants to know its meaning in all the search services of the globe. The real meaning of this simple nickname is "Hands of stone", so named by Belocqua Wera, the trainer who welcomes the Brazilian to the world of kickboxing. After trying his luck at his gym, recommended by Wilson 'Ninja' Nunes, a close friend who also practiced the sport, the trainer discovers in Alex Pereira a diamond in the rough that he is willing to polish. A jewel who, unbeknownst to him, also shares the same lineage: his new coach also has indigenous origins.
This is how the name 'Poatan' was born, the union of ethnicities, of cultures, forges a personal brand that endures today. Wera illustrated to Pereira, in a more detailed way than her parents did, what it meant to be indigenous. Their dances, customs, characteristic paintings, all about the deepest secrets of the mysticism of the Amazonian aborigines.
The UFC, a world where she enters in search of her archenemy.
The world of kickboxing ends up giving Pereira the reward he always sought: a two-division champion in Glory, the sport's reigning organization, and a member of the company's Hall of Fame. A record of 33 wins and 7 losses and two victories over his eternal rival, Israel Adesanya. The New Zealander, of Nigerian origins, takes the opportunity in an interview to show indifference to the Brazilian's signing with UFC, after leaving his discipline at the peak of his career to focus fully on MMA. The then middleweight champion plans it with a dose of bad blood in between: "I've never seen any of his fights. Nobody knows who the hell he is. At the end of his life, he'll be this grandpa in a pub who, when he's a legend, will talk trash saying he beat me once."
The fuse is lit at an unbridled pace inside Pereira. He leaves the comfort and fullness of a world where he is the undisputed King, where he is indispensable when kickboxing talk comes to the fore, and pursues his prey. There is no bow and arrows here. There is honor, a demand for respect and a desire to get the blood flowing. And the blood will eventually flow, sooner or later.
Pereira arrives, sees and wins. Three UFC fights are enough for the paths of two enemies to cross on the biggest of stages. Then, 'Poatan' vanishes the assumption woven by Adesanya, and snatches the most precious thing from the New Zealander. Love the beast, again. This time in his own field. Where he seemed invincible. The Brazilian holsters his UFC middleweight championship belt around his waist on November 12, 2022 to the incredulous presence of the fans at Madison Square Garden.
However, the second chapter does not go as Poatan expects. Adesanya undercuts Pereira's souffle with a spectacular second-round knockout five months later, and conditions the Brazilian's departure to light heavyweight. The score is 3-1, but Adesanya sticks three arrows in Pereira's unconscious body that mean more than just relief for the new champion. A rivalry that ends with both individuals shaking hands, and not with bad blood in between. An example of humility and respect in MMA. Tables on the UFC scoreboard. But where there was fire, the ashes remain.
Reaffirming the dual championship and etching the legacy in fire.
Things have been going well at light heavyweight for Alex Pereira. After beating Jan Błachowicz in July 2023, the Brazilian faces a chance to become a two-time champion as he contests the vacant title against Jiří Procházka at UFC 295. The Czech falls to Pereira's deadly left hook, and falls unconscious to the ground when the referee decides to stop the fight. It's a reality. Just two years and 366 days removed from winning his first world championship, Alex Pereira is a two-time UFC champion. He enters the select club of figures like Conor McGregor or Daniel Cormier. The Mount Olympus of Dana White 's company. A privileged place from where to see the immensity of a sport full of almost champions who would give all the pennies generated in his career to spend an afternoon there, where the echo of a sacrificed sport makes less and less noise.
Now, it's time to pick up the last infinity gem. The damaged pride of Jamahall Hill is the final boss for a Pereira who has already fought his toughest battle in the dangerous favelas. Where respect is earned at machete point and dreams end up broken by the long and wide precipice of a spider's web that traps you, leaving no chance to rise to the surface to catch the slightest breath of vital air. To live or die. The all or nothing. As their ancestors fought at the point of the spear, the line between making history and failing is very fine in UFC 300. The survival instinct, the main ally. The strength, serenity and the different skin that have sewn his Amazonian veins is the most deadly weapon with which Alex Pereira seeks to make history next April 13 on the screens of all mixed martial arts fans. From deep in the jungle, to the world.