Alex Pereira has almost become unstoppable in his short stint in the UFC, as even the mighty Israel Adesanya was unable to defeat the ferocious striker at UFC 281.
Given his run in the UFC, it would be hard to imagine anyone having beaten ‘Poatan’. But the Brazilian, in fact, lost his first ever MMA fight. Now the man who defeated him has claimed he can beat Pereira even faster in a rematch.
Quemel Ottoni defeated ‘Poatan’ via submission in 2015 at Jungle Fight 82. In footage of the fight, Alex Pereira can be seen being outstruck on the feet before his opponent sunk in a rear naked choke.
Ottoni was recently interviewed by MMA Junkie and stated that with his current level of BJJ skills, he would submit Pereira even quicker. He said:
“I feel my jiu-jitsu has improved leaps and certain positions that I found myself in while fighting against him, I would have taken care of business much earlier if I was fighting him today. As well as my boxing. I feel like my boxing, my standup striking has improved a lot.”
Ottoni is currently competing in the welterweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Alex Pereira is known to be an enormous middleweight, and cuts over 40 lbs. to make the 185 pound weight limit. While the current PFL fighter may have improved over the last 7 years, it would be hard to imagine him holding Pereira down.
Watch the video below from 15:20:
Sean Strickland details recent interaction with Alex Pereira
Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland faced off at UFC 276, with the Brazilian making short work of his fellow middleweight. ‘Poatan’ knocked Strickland out in round 1 with a trademark left hook in the bout that set up his eventual title fight with Israel Adesanya at UFC 280.
Strickland was recently interviewed by Helen Yee, and shared light on a recent interaction between himself and the new UFC middleweight champion.
He detailed their interaction in typical fashion:
“I mean, how am I gonna hate on a big f***ing Brazilian that knocked me out, he’s probably gonna do it again. He’s a solid f***ing guy. Big f***ing Brazilian who works his a** off. Been in the game [a long time], he f***ing clipped me. What kind of petty motherf***er would I be, he’s the f***ing champion. I shared the ring with him, he’s the f***ing man.”
Alex Pereira is known to be stoic and unexpressive, and a meeting with Strickland’s eccentric personality would have made for interesting viewing.
Watch the video below from 4:05: