Background and career
Alex Sandro Silva Pereira (born 7 July 1987) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former professional kickboxer. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the former two-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and former UFC Middleweight Champion. As of 19 September 2026, he is #3 in the Meta UFC light heavyweight rankings, #4 in the Meta UFC heavyweight rankings and as of 22 September 2026, he is #10 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings. He is the ninth fighter in UFC history to become champion in two different weight divisions and the first to become champion in both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions of the organization. In kickboxing, he is a former Glory middleweight and light heavyweight champion, and is the first and only fighter to have held Glory titles in two weight classes simultaneously. Pereira also competed in promotions such as It's Showtime and Superkombat Fighting Championship in kickboxing, and for Jungle Fight and Legacy Fighting Alliance in MMA. Pereira is the only known fighter to be a two-division world champion in MMA and kickboxing and is regarded as one of the greatest combat athletes of all time. Pereira was ranked #1 in the kickboxing middleweight and light-heavyweight rankings in February 2021.
Growing up in the favela of Batistini in the periphery of São Bernardo do Campo, Pereira dropped out of middle school to begin working with his father as a bricklayer's assistant, later as a shoeshine boy, selling roses, before landing a steady job at a in a tire shop. Pereira's youth was marked by hardships and family tragedies. His brother Angelo, just over a year older, became involved with drugs and was murdered at the age of 17. Influenced by his colleagues, he began drinking and eventually became an alcoholic, an addiction that, by his own account, began at age 12 and worsened throughout his youth, eventually impairing his professional performance at the tire shop. In 2009 at 21 years old, he began training kickboxing in order to get rid of his addiction. After several unsuccessful attempts to control his addiction, he stopped drinking alcohol permanently at the end of 2012. Upon joining Master Belocqua Wera's academy, he discovered his natural talent for martial arts.
Before becoming a prominent figure in kickboxing and mixed martial arts, Alex Pereira had a notable amateur boxing career in Brazil. He reportedly competed in 28 amateur boxing matches, achieving a record of 25 wins, all by knockout, with just 3 losses. Pereira’s signature power, particularly his devastating left hook, became evident early in his amateur career, as seen in viral footage showcasing multiple knockouts, including an instance where he knocked an opponent out of the ring.
In 2012 Alex won the Jungle Fight Middleweight Title, the WGP -85 kg/187 lb Championship and challenged for the It's Showtime 85MAX Championship vs Jason Wilnis losing by TKO in the second round. In 2013 he won the WAKO Pro Panamerican K-1 -85 kg/187 lb Championship. In late 2013 he went back to the amateurs to participate in the W.A.K.O. World Championship '13 at -91 kg. He won in the quarter final and the semi final but came up short in the finals vs Sergej Maslobojev earning him a silver medal. Two months later he participated in the WGP tournament and beat Camilo Ferraz in the semi final and fought César Almeida in the finals having previously defeating him in SUPERKOMBAT New Heroes 2, in the finals Alex lost by decision making their rivalry 1-1. In 2014 he made his Glory debut having won the Glory 14: Zagreb - Middleweight Contender Tournament in Zagreb, Croatia on 8 March 2014, beating Dustin Jacoby by first-round knockout in the semi-finals and Sahak Parparyan by majority decision in the final. It was announced during the Glory 15: Istanbul broadcast that Pereira would be one of eight fighters competing in the Glory 17: Los Angeles - Last Man Standing middleweight tournament in Inglewood, California, United States on 21 June 2014. He lost to eventual champion Artem Levin by unanimous decision in the quarter-finals to exit the tournament. He was scheduled to fight a trilogy with César Almeida during WGP Kickboxing 25 for the vacant belt WGP Middleweight Championship. He defeated Almeida by decision. He defended his WGP KB title with a second-round KO of Maycon Silva at WGP KB 40. In his next five fights, Pereira went on a 4–1 run, losing only to the pound for pound great Artur Kyshenko. During this run Pereira achieved his most famous victories, defeating the future UFC Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya twice: once by unanimous decision, and once by a counter left hook KO. Pereira participated in the Glory Contender Tournament defeating Burim Rama in the semi finals, losing to Yousri Belgaroui at the Glory 40 in the finale.
Pereira won the Glory Middleweight title with a unanimous decision win against Simon Marcus at Glory 46: China. Alex defended the title in a rematch vs Yousri Belgaroui At Glory 49 Superfight Series, and then in 2018 in New York Madison Square Garden at the Glory 55 for the Middleweight Title Match, where Belgaroui had received the overhand right knockout at 2:29 of Round 1. For Pereira, it was the 28th career victory and the sixth inside the Glory ring. In November 2018, Pereira said he would pursue MMA career after his contract with Glory will expire in April 2019. Eventually, Pereira re-signed with Glory with possibility to fight in the mixed martial arts also. After four successful Glory middleweight title defenses (against Yousri Belgaroui twice, Simon Marcus and Jason Wilnis), Pereira moved up to fight Donegi Abena for the interim Glory Light Heavyweight Championship at Glory 68. Pereira won the fight via knockout in the third round, becoming the first double champion in Glory history. After winning the Interim Light Heavyweight Championship, Pereira opted to defend his middleweight title against Ertugrul Bayrak at Glory Collision 2 on 21 December 2019. After largely dominating the first round, he won the bout via knockout at the end of the round.
Pereira was scheduled to challenge Artem Vakhitov for the Glory Light Heavyweight title at Glory 77. Pereira won the fight by split decision, becoming the first fighter in GLORY history to simultaneously hold two belts at the same time. Pereira was later stripped of his Middleweight title. Pereira rematched Artem Vakhitov at Glory 78: Rotterdam in his first title defense. He lost the rematch by majority decision. Pereira was deducted one point in round 4 due to repeated clinching, which was seen by many as a controversial decision by the referee.
