Alexsandro Pereira was born on July 7th, 1987, in São Paulo, Brazil. The former kickboxer has a pro record of 33-7 and now a Pro MMA record of 5-1. Since February 2021 Pereira has ranked at no.1 in the kickboxing middleweight and light-heavyweight rankings.
The 34 year-old has earned his nickname “Poatan” (Stone Hand) because of his rock-hard, knockout-left fist, accumulating 25 KO’s through his professional fighting career.
Pereira was a former, double-champion under the GLORY kickboxing promotion additionally fighting under other promotions such as It’s Showtime and SUPERKOMBAT Fighting Championship. Pereira also posseses a great amateur record of 25-3, with all 25 wins coming via knockout. (And oh, by the way, “The three losses weren’t even losses, the judges just gave them the decision for actually surviving the fight.” says Alex.
Pereira’s recent move into MMA has seen him already fight twice in the UFC, after only four previous MMA bouts. In his UFC debut, he earned a Performance of the Night after landing a flying knee on his opponent. Pereira is currently training with light-heavyweight UFC champion Glover Teixeira, at Teixeira MMA & Fitness gym based in Bethel, Connecticut.
Pereira at the age of 12 dropped out of education and found himself working at a tire shop. He said that it was during this period that he started to develop an alcohol addiction. He would also frequently get into fights and confrontations on the streets of Sao Paulo. But the Brazilian’s life changed forever when, at the age of 21, he found himself walking into a kickboxing gym for the first time.
Pereira is a native Brazilian and he states that both his parents come from native tribal stock, of which he said; “Once I started learning about it, I just wanted to learn more and more. It was fascinating to me. And it’s made me more spiritual, more in touch with my ancestry.”
The kickboxing gym he first trained at, was also a team made up of native Brazilians. This helped Pereira learn about his ancestry as he developed his fighting skills.
Okay, so now you know something about “Poatan’s” backstory, let’s take a look at his most devastating and brutal knockouts as we break down, Alex Pereira’s Top 5 MMA & Kickboxing Finishes! (in descending order)
5. Vs. Thomas Powell – LFA 95 (Nov. 20, 2020)
This would be Pereira’s fourth MMA fight. Fighting under Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA), Pereira was still building his experience under the promotion. It was this fight that would take him to the UFC.
Both fighters started by establishing their range with low kicks to the calf and thigh.
Pereira landed the first power shot with a right kick to the body in the first round. Both fighters clinched with Pereira holding the dominant position, landing knees to Powell’s body and face.
Pereira attempts to land a spinning kick which forces Powell to drive into him with a takedown attempt.
The finish came in the first round, as Pereira throws a left kick which is blocked by Powell but was followed up with a left check hook that catches Powell on the chin knocking him out. This gave Pereira the win by KO with only 56 seconds left on the clock
4. Vs. Ertuğrul Bayrak – Glory 74 (Dec. 21, 2019)
This K1 bout under the GLORY promotion would come to be Pereira’s third last kickboxing fight, before his move to MMA.
To start, Pereira pressured forward right away, landing two punches and a low kick, with Bayrak responding right away with a low kick. Pereira throws a left high kick which is caught by Bayrak which he then uses to his advantage to sweep Pereira to the canvas.
Both fighters go one for one with their striking, as punches and kicks are thrown with power. Bayrak is wobbled by Pereira’s jab which he follows with several knees to the head and body. Pereira continues to put pressure on landing punches.
The finish comes right on the buzzer, as Pereira throws a punch to the body followed by his signature left hook which knocks Bayrak out for the KO win at 3:00 of round 1.
3. Vs. Israel Adesanya – Glory of Heroes 7 (Mar. 4, 2017)
Israel Adesanya is one of the biggest names in the MMA and kickboxing world. This would be Pereira’s second time facing Adesanya, with this win being the most noteworthy of his career.
In round 1, both fighters land a range of low kicks and punches to establish their range. Adesanya applied a lot of pressure in the round forcing Pereira to fight off the back foot.
The second round begins with Adesanya repeatedly switching stances, as he throws various powerful strikes to Pereira’s head and body. Pereira still counterpunches in response to Adesanya’s front foot pressure.
Adesanya throws several straight punches which seem to stun Pereira as he backs towards the corner of the ring. Pereira still stumbles as Adesanya clinches and throws knees to the body and head.
The referee calls for a count as Pereira doesn’t do too well in the defense department. Somehow Pereira makes it to the end of the round with rounds 1 and 2 scoring in favour of Adesanya.
For the next round, Pereira needed a response to that difficult round two. Pereira starts off the third round aggressively throwing long-range kicks and knees.
The finish comes at 0:42 of the third round, as both fighters throw left and right hooks but Pereira just beats Adesanya with a punch that knocks him out cold for the win by left hook KO.
2. Vs. Jason Wilnis – Glory 65 (May 17, 2019)
This fight was under the GLORY fight promotion for the Middleweight Championship, with Pereira undefeated in his last five fights.
Pereira starts round 1 with long-range kicks to Wilnis’ body and legs whilst Wilnis lands several low kicks which force Pereira to back off.
Soon after, Pereira throws a high right kick which knocks Wilnis down, opening a cut under his left eye. The referee goes for the count but the fight is allowed to continue.
The finish comes at 1:31 of round 1 as Pereira wastes no time in throwing a left, flying knee which knocks Wilnis out for the KO win.
1. Vs. Andreas Michailidis – UFC 268 (Nov. 6, 2021)
This would be his Pereira’s debut fight in the UFC and only his fifth MMA fight. This fight would also earn him a Performance of the Night bonus, with an emphatic win.
In the height of the action, after trading several punches and kicks, Michailidis shoots for a takedown.
After a minute of grappling, Pereira makes his way to his feet. The rest of the first round continues with both fighters in a clinch up against the cage.
The finish comes after only 18 seconds into round 2, as Pereira lands a devastating, flying left knee along with a couple of punches, but the knee did the damage by itself knocking Michailidis out unconscious for the KO win.
