Alex Pereira hit the mat after getting clocked by American hip-hop artist and songwriter Lil Tjay during a recent sparring session.
Having a little fun with the 22-year-old rapper before his highly anticipated return to the Octagon next month, ‘Poatan’ caught a solid right hand on the chin that immediately knocked him to the ground. Pereira appeared to be completely out before coming to and looking confused about what happened.
Lil Tjay knocked out Alex Pereira
pic.twitter.com/0N6Qgkcx6m
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) March 18, 2024
Lil Tjay — real name Tione Jayden Merritt — rose to prominence in 2017 with the song ‘Resume’ followed by the release of his breakthrough song ‘Brothers’ which led to a record deal with Columbia Records. In June 2022, he was shot seven times during an armed robbery in Edgewater, New Jersey. Merritt was flown to Hackensack Emergency Medical Center where he underwent surgery.
Two months later, he released his single ‘Beat the Odds,’ which detailed his near-fatal experience and his road to recovery.
Alex Pereira set to headline the biggest event in UFC history
On Saturday, April 13, Alex Pereira will put his light heavyweight championship on the line for the first time against former titleholder Jamahal Hill in the UFC 300 main event. ‘Poatan’ claimed the title via a second-round knockout of Jiri Prochazka in November, but only after ‘Sweet Dreams’ vacated the belt due to an Achilles injury he sustained over the summer.
Pereira and Hill go into the contest with identical 6-1 records under the UFC banner. Alex Pereira currently sits as a moderate favorite at -135 on DraftKings while Hill is a slight underdog at +114.
Check out the official trailer for UFC 300: