Is Alex Pereira the new face of the UFC?
UFC 281, UFC 287, UFC 295, UFC 300, UFC 303, UFC 307. These are the events headlined by Alex Pereira. What’s even crazier is the fact that those events took place, and will take place, in less than 2 years. For someone with the championships like Pereira, that is an insane stat. That begs the question:
Is Alex Pereira the new face of the UFC?
What makes a superstar?
Like Darth Vader to the Luke Skywalker or The Joker to Batman, a hero is only as good as their villain. This is true in fight promotion too. Muhammad Ali had Joe Frazier and George Foreman. Anderson Silva had Chael Sonnen. A hero needs adversity, otherwise they suffer from the same problem modern filmmakers have with Superman: he is OP, he’s just gonna win.
Heroes have to look vulnerable, lose even.
For years, it seemed like Israel Adesanya would be a superstar, except fans turned on him. Seen perhaps as an Anderson Silva imposter, or maybe things like inappropriately touching his dog and weird comments, fans turned against Adesanya, who had dominated 185 for years.
Then came Alex Pereira. Like he was hunting an animal, Pereira hunted down Adesanya after his two wins in kickboxing over “The Last Stylebender.” Now the champion, Adesanya was an even more valuable target to chase, and chase he did.
While the two went 1-1, trading knockouts, it was Pereira that came out the victor on the other side despite Adesanya winning the last fight. Pereira would go on to go on the Glover Teixeira revenge tour, beating Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill.
After beating Pereira, Adesanya would go on to lose to Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis. In fact, Adesanya hasn’t won a fight since knocking out Pereira. It is the post-Adesanya activity that has put Pereira on top of the narrative as the fan-favorite fighter.
Alex Pereira becoming the king
I would argue that Alex Pereira certainly is the face of the UFC at the current moment. While he won’t sell as many pay per views as Conor McGregor, we are not certain he will ever fight again.
Judging someone’s stardom off of pay per view sales in the current era of streaming is not a perfect metric, either. The buzz around an Alex Pereira fight week is palpable.
Since moving to 205, Pereira has been perfect. He didn’t knock out Jan Blachowicz in his debut, but then again, only Thiago Santos has in Blachowicz’ 40 fight career.
What he has done is beat four former champions at light heavyweight: Jiri Prochazka twice, the aforementioned Blachowicz and Jamahal Hill. The Hill fight was the most important.
Alex Pereira knocked out Jamahal Hill at the UFC’s marquee event in 2024: UFC 300. Headlining a centennial event for the UFC is an honor. Brock Lesnar headlined 100 and basically did the same at 200. Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier was supposed to main event 200 before Jones pulled out for one of his many treacheries.
What made Pereira different from Lesnar and Jones was that he was saving UFC 300. For months, speculation around the main event swirled. It was supposed to be the best ever. But it became apparent there was nobody there and with a month or so to go, Alex Pereira was asked to fight. Despite the broken foot, he did fight.
Jamahal Hill was as the former champion who never actually lost his belt. He kicked Pereira in the groin early on, to which Pereira waved referee Herb Dean off from stopping the fight and knocked out Hill with his very next punch.
Echoing Max Holloway just two fights prior: Alex Pereira was him.
The next chapter
Now Alex Pereira is back. Not the savior, but simply the headliner, Pereira is taking on the dangerous Khalil Rountree in the main event of UFC 307. Magomed Ankalaev is seen as the true challenger to the throne at light heavyweight but sometimes the UFC wants a good ole resume builder in the modern age.
Rountree is seen as a push over which is unfair. A dangerous striker in his own respects, Rountree can knock out Pereira if he connects. He is a wild card that has battered Eryk Anders from pillar to post, stomped out the knee of Modestas Bukauskas, and obliterated the former title challenger Anthony Smith.
Rountree’s resume is admittedly not the most deserving, but he is a violent, violent man. And his fans know this.
Thats what turns on fans of Alex Pereira. Rountree is dangerous, as was Adesanya, Hill, and Prochazka. While Rountree is not the villain Adesanya was by any stretch. But Pereira’s light heavyweight run has been a revenge tour for his teammate Glover Teixeira.
Until now.
Khalil Rountree will be a new challenge for the 37-year-old Alex Pereira. It’s the sunset of his career. He may retire this weekend with a statement win. He may go on to fight Magomed Ankalaev or Dricus Du Plessis. Whatever he decides to do, it will be the next chapter in the Alex Pereira era of the UFC.
Not a bastion of pay per view sales, Alex Pereira is a shining example of a highlight reel, activity, and most importantly, an example of what a champion should be.
