Alex Pereira revealed the secret behind his brutal knockout power.
Emanating from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Pereira is set to defend his light heavyweight championship for the fourth time when he meets top-ranked contender Magomed Ankalaev in the UFC 313 headliner on Saturday night.
Ahead of perhaps his toughest test to date, ‘Poatan’ offered some insight into what has helped him become one of the most destructive forces in UFC history.
“I helped my father with construction work as a bricklayer assistant,” Pereira said on UFC 313 Embedded. “Then I worked in the tire shop for 14 years. I started this job very early. And I think I was increasing my strength. Then with all the training, it improved.”
In just four years with the promotion, Pereira has already KO’d some of the biggest names in the game, including former UFC champions Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya, Jamahal Hill, and Jiri Prochazka twice. He also scored an impressive fourth-round finish against Khalil Rountree Jr. in his last outing at UFC 307.
Bettors Think Ankalaev has the best chance of dethroning Alex Pereira
With that said, Pereira has never faced a grappler quite as skilled as Magomed Ankalaev. As a result, the betting lines are nearly dead even.
The Dagestani standout is unbeaten in his last 13 fights and only has one blemish on his record, that being a last-second submission loss to Paul Craig in his promotional debut seven years ago. In December 2022, Ankalaev scored his first shot at the light heavyweight title, challenging Jan Blachowicz for the vacant strap at UFC 282.
The fight failed to win over fans or deliver a winner as the bout was ultimately ruled a split draw after five very forgettable rounds.
Since then, Ankalaev has earned wins over Johnny Walker and Aleksandar Rakić. His second-round knockout of Walker was an undeniably impressive victory, but the win over Rakić left fans struggling to stay awake. Still, Ankalaev put on a dominant enough performance to justify another shot at gold.
