Humble beginnings keep UFC 313 star from buying his own hype
Alex Pereira was never one of those athletes who grew up dreaming of one day being able to buy his mom a house with all of his success and riches.
His aspirations were far more practical as a middle school dropout in Brazil working at a tire shop in his early 20s and battling alcohol addiction.
“I was just trying to survive,” Pereira said through a translator. “Some people may say I was a pessimist, but I was a realist. That’s just what it was.”
Pereira took up kickboxing when he was 22 in part to help battle his addiction, but he continued to drink until winning the Brazilian-based Jungle Fight title three years later in 2012. That’s about the time he got sober for good.
Unsurprisingly, his career benefited.
It’s taken off to the point the two-division UFC champ could stake a claim as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world with a win over Magomed Ankalaev in the main event of UFC 313 on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.
Pereira, the current light heavyweight champion, has had plenty of shining moments and highlight-reel knockouts throughout his career. But it was the moment the 37-year-old was able to hand over the keys to the new house he bought for his mom that he knew he had succeeded in life.
“It was a dream come true, but it wasn’t even a dream until I started making money,” Pereira said. “Back when I was working at the tire shop, it wasn’t something I could even think of.”
Pereira signed with prestigious kickboxing league Glory in 2014 and quickly rose up the ranks to become a world champion.
His success there, which included a famed rivalry with eventual UFC champ Israel Adesanya, put him in position to sharpen his game in preparation for a mixed martial arts career. But while he was allowed to compete in the discipline, his Glory deal precluded him from making the leap to the UFC until 2021.
The fact he has been able to put together such an impressive UFC résumé despite his late start could have him feeling bitter, but that’s not an emotion that exists with Pereira.
“I’ve thought of what could have been,” he said. “There was a time everything was set for me to come in and fight at (the Contender Series), but Glory blocked it. In the end, I was working with a team I knew would get me to the UFC so I basically had a few years to plan it out and really dedicate myself to being ready. I feel if I would have come in at that point, I wouldn’t have had the experience or been as prepared or been as ready as I was when I actually came in, so I’m making the most of it.”
Pereira’s attitude is in part due to how low his expectations were for himself until young adulthood. Yet he doesn’t remember being angry about his lot in life. He thought he had just settled for it.
“I had a tough childhood and went into a very hard life of labor,” Pereira said. “I didn’t have any outlook on life or anything to look forward to, but I wasn’t dwelling over it. I had just accepted it. It’s different from someone who maybe goes to college and is planning out their life and maybe gets frustrated because they fall short of their expectation. I didn’t have anything to look forward to so it was just that.”
Pereira, who recently returned to help out around the auto shop in Sao Paulo as part of a documentary, doesn’t come across as a major star despite being one of the most recognizable athletes in the UFC.
He keeps his team and friends close and is often lauded by fans as one of the most humble and welcoming stars around.
It’s important to Pereira to not allow success to change him.
“I’m just myself,” he said. “I don’t see a reason to change because I have money or fame or status or anything like that. That doesn’t change me. Why would I not just be me?
“When fans approach, I just appreciate it because it’s just the recognition of all the work I’ve put in. Sometimes I’m tired or I don’t want to take a million pictures or talk to anyone because I’m not having a great day, but it’s not their fault. It might be the one time I meet them and they want to interact. So it’s part of the job. You have to do it for them and I understand that.”
His star could further rise with a win over Ankalaev, who hasn’t lost since 2018, in the headliner of Saturday’s 7 p.m. pay-per-view card.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
