‘Riyadh Season Noche UFC 2’ is Saturday, September 14. The UFC pulls out all the stops as it goes up against the biggest star in boxing, Canelo Alvarez, who fights in the same city simultaneously. UFC 306 takes place at the Vegas Sphere and promises to be a spectacle not …

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UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili and flyweight champion Alexa Grasso have called for a double-championship fight at UFC 300. Weili shared a screenshot on Instagram on December 19, showing her and Grasso confirming their intentions to fight each other at UFC 300. “Hi champion,” Weili prompted Grasso. “Maybe the fans …

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Few fighters have captured the attention of fans quite like Alex Pereira. ‘Poatan’s’ stoic demeanour, devastating power and tribal influence endear him to many.

His formidable presence, accompanied by enigmatic music and striking body paint, holds profound significance, representing a heritage Pereira proudly embraces with every octagon appearance.

Photo via Ubiranan

Pereira is a descendant of the ancient Pataxó warrior tribe of Brazil. They are indigenous people with a population of close to 12,000 who speak Portuguese and a modern variation of their ancient language Pataxó (formerly their primary language).

The Pataxó people are proud to be represented by Pereira. Tribal leader Ubiranan told MMA Fighting “We gain visibility and respect with his fights. He has indigenous roots and has chosen to represent the Pataxó people. Because we were the first to face the Portuguese [in 1500]. We’ve had so many battles, and now we battle to preserve what’s left of our ethnicity.” [h/t Guilherme Cruz, MMA Fighting]

Pereira’s fighting nickname ‘Poatan’ is a Tupi-Guarani name, meaning ‘Hands hard as rocks’. This is also represented in the stone texture tattoos on his hands.

Pereira owes his heritage to his paternal Grandparents, and he resurrects his culture in his nickname, presentation, and walkouts. The Brazilian knockout artist is well-known for his pre-fight walkout, where he trots into the arena backed by tribal music, aims at his opponent with a mock bow and arrow and roars as he releases the quiver.

Alex Pereira’s famous walkout

“It [Pereira’s heritage] made me feel more confident,” Pereira told The Sun. “We wanted to resurrect my origins and indigenous culture. I made a ritual with the bow and arrow. Thena sequence with the indigenous music and that’s how it started.”

Pereira’s walkout music is Itsári, by Sepultura, a Brazilian heavy metal band. You can listen to the full song below, courtesy of the Sepultura YouTube Channel:

“Recorded in a state of the Brazilian Midwest region called Mato Grosso, in a part of the Amazonian jungle with members of the indigenous Brazilian Xavantes tribe, the chanting is from a Xavante healing ceremony.

Itsári, the song’s title, translates to “roots” in the Xavante language.”

via Genius

UFC

Pereira’s headdress and face paint at weigh-ins and face-offs are intended to honor his ancestral heritage. They also build on his already imposing figure to intimidate his opponents.

The color red is used for war by the Pataxó people.

What is Alex Pereira’s UFC Record?

(Apr 16, 2024) Pereira is 10-2-0 MMA, and 7-1-0 in the UFC. He last defended his light heavyweight title against Jamahal Hill at UFC 300.

What are Alex Pereira’s UFC losses?

(Apr 16, 2024) Pereira has one loss in the UFC, a knockout defeat to Israel Adesanya at UFC 287.

What are Alex Pereira’s Stats?

(via UFCStats, Apr 16, 2024) Pereira lands an average of 5.1 significant strikes per minute, with a 62% accuracy. He has defended 50% of strikes, and 70% of takedowns. He has landed 100% of takedowns attempted in the UFC.

What is Alex Pereira’s Height & Weight Class?

Pereira is 6’4″ and currently fights in the light heavyweight division (205 lbs). He has also fought at middleweight (185 lbs).

What is Alex Pereira’s kickboxing record?

Pereira is 33-7-0 in kickboxing with 21 knockouts. He previously held the GLORY light heavyweight and heavyweight titles simultaneously, becoming the first fighter to do so.

Bookmark this website for more UFC, ONE, PFL and boxing news & articles! Also check out The Fight Fanatic on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

With UFC 267 just gone by, UFC 268 is already upon us! Although it has lost some great potential with the Luke Rockhold pull-out, it’s still an exciting night of fights! Kamaru Usman will face his biggest rival, Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington for the second time, to solidify his championship reign. …

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The fighting world is Leon Edwards’ oyster after the former welterweight champ revealed the UFC’s plans to have him headline UFC London on March 22, 2025. ‘Rocky’ maintains a position of leverage as a former champion with one of the most replayed championship knockouts in combat sports history. It only …

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UFC CEO Dana White has announced that the UFC will no longer ban athletes from donning their flags during fight nights. White made the announcement as part of the UFC Vegas 80 post-fight presser on October 7.

White unwittingly suggested that fan outrage was the reason flags were banned in the first place, “The no flag thing drove me crazy, I was like, ‘Yeah f*** that. We’re bringing flags back,” he remarked. “…Everybody’s too soft, everybody’s too sensitive about everything. …If any flags are hurting your feelings, too f****** bad.”

When asked why the UFC had banned flags from their events back in 2022, White remarked “You guys know why… Let’s not even play that f****** game.” It would seem that White and the UFC would keep their reasoning close to their chest.

The leading theory on the ban is the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war which coincided with the UFC’s decision to ban the flags. The promotion likely didn’t want its fighters to embroil their product into international conflicts. As well as this, there were controversies sparked by fighters like Edmen Shahbazyan, who walked out with an Armenian Separatist flag, sparking some major online backlash.

Edmen Shahbazyan with the flag, via UFC

“The Golden Child” stood in the octagon with an Artsakh flag as his backdrop, and a successful fundraiser was raised to hold the UFC accountable. As a result, a UFC employee was fired, and Shahbazyan’s head trainer Edmond Tarverdyan was fined.

Well flags are back now, and the hiatus of fighter representation was more than likely a policy change on the UFC’s behalf. Athletes are allowed to use flags of internationally recognized states, so the unbanning is possibly a shift in gear in terms of the UFC enforcing the policy – they’ll be dishing out fines in other words.

The unbanning also comes in light of a few incidents concerning fighter’s ‘freedom of speech’: Two fighters at UFC Sydney called the crowd “f****ts” on Sept 14; Noche UFC, despite being a celebration of Mexican independence, was stifled by fighters not being able to represent their flag; Bryce “Thug Nasty” Mitchell reveled with his Bible during his introduction at UFC Fight Night 228 , and called others to prayer in celebration of his victory.

Bryce Mitchell totes his bible at UFC Fight Night 228, via UFC

White’s response to a lot of these incidents was a resounding ‘They can do whatever they want, we won’t stop them.’ “There’s no muzzles here,” White remarked.

The unbanning of flags is a step in the right direction for UFC fighter representation. So lets hope the change is a shift in the UFC product to allow fighters to express themselves appropriately without fear of corporate repercussion.

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UFC on ESPN 58: Rafael Dos Anjos vs Rafael Fiziev, is not only a Fight Night that determines who the better Rafael is, but it also brings a lot of exciting fights. It can’t be stressed how many of these fights are coinflips, in the best possible way. In the …

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ONE FC Chairman Chatri Sityodtong announced last year that ONE FC would have 52 events at Lumpinee Stadium in 2023. The announcement came as a landmark event in Muay Thai, as the sport now gets to shine its light in the Western hemisphere.

Events are set to go ahead on January 20th 2023, and then every Friday thereafter.

• 5:30am ET
• 10:30am GMT
• 2:30am PT
• 4:30am CT
• 17:30pm ICT

ONE FC secured a TV deal in Thailand with Channel 7HD, the country’s largest free-to-air TV network. This won’t be accessible by worldwide fans, however. There will be other methods provided.

Otherwise, fans should expect to watch the fights on ONE’s own YouTube channel, like most other ONE events.

ONE Lumpinee will be using ONE FC’s Muay Thai ruleset:

ONE Superseries Muay Thai uses 3×3 minute rounds, with 5 rounds for title fights. Fights are scored using a 10 point must system. Elbow strikes, clinch fighting, sweeps and throws are all allowed. Fighters use open-fingered 4-oz gloves as opposed to boxing gloves.

See: The Differences Between ONE Championship and the UFC

Excited for ONE Lumpinee? Drop a comment below about your most anticipated fights.

The UFC 272 main card opens up with two big sluggers. They know what they’re doing by having this as the first fight, It’s highly unlikely to see the final bell.

Greg Hardy has been on a skid, losing two in a row to Marcin Tybura and Tai Tuivasa. ‘The Prince of War’ seeks redemption with a career defining victory over Moldova’s Sergey Spivak. Spivak, recovering from his own loss to hot prospect Tom Aspinall, has a great HW resumé, and looks to add to his roster of victories this weekend.

See my other predictions here

The reality of this fight is this: Greg Hardy either knocks Spivak out, or Spivak survives the early onslaught to grind Hardy out on the ground.

Spivak isn’t known for his striking, he’s more of a take them down and grind them out sort of fighter. This being said, he’s shown promise on the feet, with some quick counter combos like those he threw against Alexey Oleynik. But when you consider Oleynik is 40+ years old and known for his grappling, it becomes less impressive.

Tom Aspinall folded Spivak in less than half a round last November. Whilst Aspinall is slimmer than Hardy, they both share the same penchant for straight punches. This is something Spivak struggles with, as his striking is quite rudimentary and he often leaves his guard wide open for those straights to come through.

Hardy throwing leather

You can’t play with the power of Hardy. He’s not the fittest or the most technically sound, but he has legitimate knock your head off capabilities, and a nasty temperament. I predict Hardy by knockout.

My pick – Hardy by KO/TKO

Oddschecker actually has Hardy as a sizeable underdog. The grappling threat from Spivak isn’t to be understated, but neither is Hardy’s power. Hardy to win outright is 7/4, and to win by KO/TKO/DQ it’s 3/1. The knockout odds in particular should be of interest.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this content, drop a comment!

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has highlighted his disdain for up-and-comers urging him to vacate his title.

Currently sidelined with a torn pectoral muscle, “Bones” is feeling the mounting pressure from his UFC peers, including interim title holder Tom Aspinall, who is eagerly eyeing a chance at the legitimate belt, whether or not Jones can make a timely return.

In a post made to X on December 4, Jones laid out his thoughts for all to hear:

I’ve faced the absolute toughest competition this world had to offer for 15 years now. During camp for a title defense I sustained a major injury that required surgery for the first time in my career. Now I have newcomers requesting I get my championship stripped. Zero wins over…

— Jonny Meat (@JonnyBones) December 4, 2023

I’ve faced the absolute toughest competition this world had to offer for 15 years now. During camp for a title defense I sustained a major injury that required surgery for the first time in my career. Now I have newcomers requesting I get my championship stripped.

“Zero wins over legends, zero title defenses and already thinking you can call the shots to Dana [White], that’s hilarious. In my 15 year career I have seen so many guys who are supposed to be the next big thing. There’s ever only been one Jon Jones, never forget that.”

Jones on X, Dec 4 2023

ALSO READ: UFC Champ Tom Aspinall Slams French Rival in Uncharacteristic Rant

Jones was most likely responding to remarks made by Aspinall, who was recently calling for a legitimate title fight with Stipe Miocic. Speaking to Michael Bisping on November 17, Aspinall urged the UFC to strip Jones of his title:

“I think Jon Jones should be stripped from the title, to be honest, because everyone else does when they get injured like that.”

Unfortunately for Aspinall, Dana White is dead-set on making the Jones vs. Miocic matchup again in 2024. While numerous fans and pundits foresee a double-retirement following the contest, any existing animosity that could ignite an Aspinall vs. Jones matchup in the meantime might entice “Bones” to give it one last shot.

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Gregory Rodrigues vs Armen Petrosyan Predictions Two giant middleweight knockout artists clash in a great introduction to the main card. “Robocop” is an appropriate name, but I think “Terminator” would also be applicable for Gregory Rodrigues. An intimidating figure, Rodrigues walks his opponents down and really makes it a dog …

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I stayed up for the UFC 270 main event last time, and in the UK this means sitting in bed fighting off sleep until 6am. It was ridiculous and I felt hungover for the next few days. Waking up at 2pm and getting a sort of remorse for having wasted …

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With UFC 267 just gone by, UFC 268 is already upon us! Although it has lost some great potential with the Luke Rockhold pull-out, it’s still an exciting night of fights! Kamaru Usman will face his biggest rival, Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington for the second time, to solidify his championship reign. …

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