Newly crowned Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion Alex Pereira brought his shiny gold belt back home to show off to his Pataxó tribe in Brazil earlier this year. It was a memorable and very unique scene to say the least.
Pereira is coming off a spectacular come-from-behind knockout stoppage over former UFC middleweight king Israel Adesanya at UFC 281 this past November (highlights HERE). It was the third time “Poaton” has defeated Adesanya in a combat setting and the first time “Last Stylebender” has been finished in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA).
The victory helped extend Pereira’s unbeaten UFC streak to four, which only stretches back to Nov. 2021. In such a short amount of time the Brazilian fighter went from former kickboxing champion rising the ranks to an undisputed world champion. It’s been a wild ride for “Poaton,” but one that ultimately led him back home.
Earlier this week, Pereira journeyed back to Brazil with his UFC middleweight title in hand to meet back up with his Pataxó tribe. The moment can been seen below as Pereira’s shows off his 185-pound title dressed head-to-toe in indigenous attire:
Alex Pereira brought his title back to his Pataxó tribe in Brazil pic.twitter.com/y0ENaRFpGj
— MMA mania (@mmamania) January 6, 2023
Pretty cool, right?
Pereira, 35, has already made his tribe proud, but the Brazilian champion is only getting started. With a potential rematch with Adesanya looming on the horizon and a stacked middleweight division nipping at his heels, “Poaton” is on the cusp of becoming one of the most exciting champions in the sport. With one of the most powerful one-punch attacks in all of MMA Pereira could hold onto his new middleweight title for quite some time.