Alex Pereira


Alex Sandro Silva Pereira is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former professional kickboxer. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is the current and two-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and former UFC Middleweight Champion. As of 9 December 2025, he is #4 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.
He is the ninth fighter in UFC history to become champion in two different weight divisions and the first to become champion in both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions of the organization. In kickboxing, he is a former Glory middleweight and light heavyweight champion, and is the first and only fighter to have held Glory titles in two weight classes simultaneously. Pereira also competed in promotions such as It's Showtime and Superkombat Fighting Championship in kickboxing, and for Jungle Fight and Legacy Fighting Alliance in MMA. Pereira is the only known fighter to be a two-division world champion in MMA and kickboxing and is regarded as one of the greatest combat athletes of all time. Pereira was ranked #1 in the kickboxing middleweight and light-heavyweight rankings in February 2021.

Early life

Growing up in a favela, Pereira dropped out of middle school to begin working as a bricklayer's assistant and later in a tire shop. Influenced by his colleagues, he began drinking and eventually became an alcoholic. In 2009, he began training kickboxing in order to get rid of his addiction.

Amateur boxing career

Before becoming a prominent figure in kickboxing and mixed martial arts, Alex Pereira had a notable amateur boxing career in Brazil. He reportedly competed in 28 amateur boxing matches, achieving a record of 25 wins, all by knockout, with just 3 losses. Pereira’s signature power, particularly his devastating left hook, became evident early in his amateur career, as seen in viral footage showcasing multiple knockouts, including an instance where he knocked an opponent out of the ring.

Kickboxing career

In 2012 Alex won the Jungle Fight Middleweight Title, the WGP -85 kg/187 lb Championship and challenged for the It's Showtime 85MAX Championship vs Jason Wilnis losing by TKO in the second round.
In 2013 he won the WAKO Pro Panamerican K-1 -85 kg/187 lb Championship.
In late 2013 he went back to the amateurs to participate in the W.A.K.O. World Championship '13 at -91 kg. He won in the quarter final and the semi final but came up short in the finals vs Sergej Maslobojev earning him a silver medal. Two months later he participated in the WGP tournament and beat Camilo Ferraz in the semi final and fought César Almeida in the finals having previously defeating him in SUPERKOMBAT New Heroes 2, in the finals Alex lost by decision making their rivalry 1-1.
In 2014 he made his Glory debut having won the Glory 14: Zagreb - Middleweight Contender Tournament in Zagreb, Croatia on 8 March 2014, beating Dustin Jacoby by first-round knockout in the semi-finals and Sahak Parparyan by majority decision in the final.
It was announced during the Glory 15: Istanbul broadcast that Pereira would be one of eight fighters competing in the Glory 17: Los Angeles - Last Man Standing middleweight tournament in Inglewood, California, United States on 21 June 2014. He lost to eventual champion Artem Levin by unanimous decision in the quarter-finals to exit the tournament.
He was scheduled to fight a trilogy with César Almeida during WGP Kickboxing 25 for the vacant belt WGP Middleweight Championship. He defeated Almeida by decision. He defended his WGP KB title with a second-round KO of Maycon Silva at WGP KB 40.
In his next five fights, Pereira went on a 4–1 run, losing only to the pound for pound great Artur Kyshenko. During this run Pereira achieved his most famous victories, defeating the future UFC Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya twice: once by unanimous decision, and once by a counter left hook KO.
Pereira participated in the Glory Contender Tournament defeating Burim Rama in the semi finals, losing to Yousri Belgaroui at the Glory 40 in the finale.

Glory Middleweight Championship

Pereira won the Glory Middleweight title with a unanimous decision win against Simon Marcus at Glory 46: China.
Alex defended the title in a rematch vs Yousri Belgaroui At Glory 49 Superfight Series, and then in 2018 in New York Madison Square Garden at the Glory 55 for the Middleweight Title Match, where Belgaroui had received the overhand right knockout at 2:29 of Round 1. For Pereira, it was the 28th career victory and the sixth inside the Glory ring.
In November 2018, Pereira said he would pursue MMA career after his contract with Glory will expire in April 2019. Eventually, Pereira re-signed with Glory with possibility to fight in the mixed martial arts also.
After four successful Glory middleweight title defenses, Pereira moved up to fight Donegi Abena for the interim Glory Light Heavyweight Championship at Glory 68. Pereira won the fight via knockout in the third round, becoming the first double champion in Glory history.
After winning the Interim Light Heavyweight Championship, Pereira opted to defend his middleweight title against Ertugrul Bayrak at Glory Collision 2 on 21 December 2019. After largely dominating the first round, he won the bout via knockout at the end of the round.

Glory Light Heavyweight Championship

Pereira was scheduled to challenge Artem Vakhitov for the Glory Light Heavyweight title at Glory 77. Pereira won the fight by split decision, becoming the first fighter in GLORY history to simultaneously hold two belts at the same time.
Pereira was later stripped of his Middleweight title.
Pereira rematched Artem Vakhitov at Glory 78: Rotterdam in his first title defense. He lost the rematch by majority decision. Pereira was deducted one point in round 4 due to repeated clinching, which was seen by many as a controversial decision by the referee.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Transitioning from kickboxing, Pereira made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2015 at Jungle Fight 82 against Quemuel Ottoni, losing the fight via submission. He continued at Jungle Fight subsequently racking up two straight victories against Marcelo Cruz and Marcus Vinicius Silveira, with a KO and TKO respectively. Pereira announced he had signed a contract to face Diego Henrique da Silva in the Brazilian edition of Dana White's Contender Series on August 10, 2018. However, the bout never materialized as Glory did not permit Pereira to compete.
On 22 October 2020, news surfaced that Pereira had signed a contract with Legacy Fighting Alliance and he then made his promotional debut against Thomas Powell on 20 November 2020. He won the fight via knockout in round one.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On 3 September 2021, Pereira signed with the UFC. He made his promotional debut against Andreas Michailidis on 6 November 2021, at UFC 268. He won the fight via technical knock out in round two. This win earned him a Performance of the Night award.
Pereira faced Bruno Silva on 12 March 2022, at UFC Fight Night 203. Pereira outstruck Silva for all three rounds and won the fight via unanimous decision.
Pereira was scheduled to face Sean Strickland on 30 July 2022, at UFC 277. However, the promotion decided to move the pairing to UFC 276 on 2 July 2022. Pereira won the fight after knocking Strickland out in the first round. This win earned him a Performance of the Night award, and Crypto.com Fan Bonus of the Night third place award which paid in bitcoin of US$10,000.

UFC Middleweight Championship

Pereira faced Israel Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight Championship on 12 November 2022, at UFC 281. He won the bout via technical knockout in the fifth round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.
A rematch between Pereira and Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight Championship took place on 8 April 2023, at UFC 287. He lost the bout via knockout in the final minute of round two.

Move to Light Heavyweight

Pereira was often noted for his large frame for his weight class and ability to comfortably cut large amounts of weight. According to Pereira, he would weigh about 215 pounds on fight night when fighting as a middleweight, and still 225 to 235 pounds as a light heavyweight. For comparison, his longtime rival Israel Adesanya typically weighed 196 pounds on fight night.
On 13 April 2023, Pereira announced via Twitter that he was moving up to the Light Heavyweight division.
Pereira faced former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jan Błachowicz on 29 July 2023 at UFC 291. He won the back-and-forth fight via split decision. 22 out of 26 media outlets scored the bout for Pereira.

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship

Pereira faced former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jiří Procházka for the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship belt on 11 November 2023, at UFC 295. He won the bout via TKO stoppage in the second round to win the title. This fight earned him the Performance of the Night award. This victory made Pereira the 9th fighter in UFC history to become champion in two different weight divisions.
Pereira made his first title defence against former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill, on 13 April 2024, at UFC 300. He won the fight by knockout in the first round after a left hook.
On two weeks notice, replacing the main event bout between Michael Chandler and Conor McGregor, who was injured, Pereira faced Jiří Procházka in a rematch on 29 June 2024, at UFC 303. After knocking Prochazka down in the last second of the first round with a left hook, he was able to win the bout with a head kick knockdown followed by punches early in the second round. This fight earned him another $50,000 Performance of the Night award. On an interview, Pereira's coach later revealed that Pereira received a $303,000 bonus for his performance at UFC 303.
Pereira made his third title defense against Khalil Rountree Jr. on 5 October 2024 at UFC 307. He won the fight by technical knockout in the fourth round. This fight earned him his first Fight of the Night award. Pereira set the record for the shortest time for three title defenses in the UFC at 175 days, beating the previous record of 189 days by Ronda Rousey, and became the seventh UFC fighter to record three title defenses in a calendar year.
Pereira faced former title challenger Magomed Ankalaev on 8 March 2025 at UFC 313. He lost the title by unanimous decision. 11 out of 21 media outlets scored the bout for Ankalaev.
Pereira competed for the championship against Magomed Ankalaev in a rematch on October 4, 2025 at UFC 320. He reclaimed the championship by technical knockout via punches and elbows in the first round. This fight earned him another Performance of the Night award. Following the fight, Pereira expressed his desire to fight former UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones at the UFC White House event, a match-up supported by Jones.