It goes without saying that Alex Pereira is special. The Brazilian, a former two-division Glory kickboxing champion, has taken the UFC by storm with a meteoric rise unlike anything we’ve seen before. If someone had told you before Pereira’s arrival that a fighter would become a two-division UFC champion within just seven fights, you probably wouldn’t have believed it. And yet, ‘Poatan’ did exactly that.
His dominance inside the Octagon has been nothing short of historic, and with Dana White hinting at a possible future heavyweight title shot, Pereira could potentially become the first-ever three-division UFC champion—a feat that once seemed unimaginable. One of the many things that make Pereira unique is his deep-rooted tribal heritage. However, there has been some confusion surrounding his connection to the Pataxó people, his indigenous ancestry. This article takes a closer look at Pereira’s tribal origins and what they truly mean to him.
Alex Pereira was not born or raised in his tribe!
Alex Pereira was born and raised in the infamous favelas of the Brazilian metropolis of Sao Paulo. Growing up in poverty, ‘Poatan’ didn’t seem to have any real prospects for social mobility, and seemed destined to live out the rest of his life in infamy. In fact, the 205lbs juggernaut was well on his way to a very unremarkable life.
After all, the Brazilian dropped out of middle school and took a job as a brick-layer’s assistant, eventually going on to work at a tire shop for over 14 years. During this time, he started drinking alcohol heavily just like the people around him. But, ‘Poatan’ didn’t want to be an alcoholic, which led to him making the most consequential decision of his career! Joining a kickboxing gym. The rest, as they say, is history.
MMA: UFC 303 – Pereira vs Prochazka Jun 29, 2024 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Alex Pereira red gloves prepares to fight Jiri Prochazka not pictured during UFC 303 at T-Mobile Arena. Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena Nevada USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xMarkxJ.xRebilasx 20240629_jhp_su5_0177
But you may have noticed that the thing that is absent from his life so far was any connections with his tribal ethnicity. The Sao Paulo native, of course, is known to paint his face like the warriors of his Pataxo tribe at weigh-ins, which would make some believe that champ always had a close and intimate relationship with his tribe. But until recently, that was actually not the case.
When did Alex Pereira connect with the Pataxo tribe?
The first kickboxing gym Alex Pereira joined back in his tire shop days had a lot of indigenous Brazilians in it. In fact, even his nickname, ‘Poatan’ (Hands of Stone), is from the tribal Tupi language, which by the way, is not the language spoken by Pereira’s Pataxo tribe.
It wasn’t until 2014, when his then coach, Belocqua Vera, took him to the Brazilian state of Bahia, where Pereira met the Pataxo tribe. This proved to be a transformative experience for ‘Poatan’, who vowed to represent the tribe in his fighting career going forward.
And the Brazilian champ has stayed true to his word. Like his previous weigh-ins, ‘Poatan’ chose to sport a Pataxo-inspired attire, complete with face paint, and their traditional headdress for the UFC 313 weigh-ins. Ahead of the contest, the light heavyweight champion even met the leader of the Pataxo tribe ‘Ubiranan’ and received a special headdress for perhaps the most important title fight of his career.
In UFC 313: Embedded Series #2, Pereira stated, “My brother Ubiranan, we exchanged headdresses. I told him that my next fight would be a very important one. It would be a new phase. He told me he would do a special headdress with eagle feathers that means vision.”
What do you think about Alex Pereira’s deep and profound love for his Pataxo tribe?
The post Alex Pereira Tribal Myth Debunked: The Truth About His Pataxo Heritage appeared first on EssentiallySports.
