Alex Pereira might be known as a fearsome striker but he’s been developing his grappling skills over the years and he’s even started sharing them with his sons too. Pereira only started his combat sports career at the age of 22 but he quickly became one of the most successful kickboxers in the world. Within just a few years he had won several smaller titles in the sport but he reached new heights in 2017 when he won the Glory middleweight world title. He added the Glory light-heavyweight title to his collection later on, eventually deciding to return to MMA after a brief 2-1 stint a few years prior.
Pereira only won a single fight on his return to MMA before being signed to the UFC, partially because of his incredible skills and partially because of a natural storyline that the promotion could sell. Pereira was one of only four men to ever beat then-reigning middleweight world champion Israel Adesanya in his kickboxing career, and the only man to finish him. He was given the chance to fight Adesanya again after winning his first three fights in the UFC and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands, knocking him out again and winning the title in just his 8th professional fight.
Although he lost the rematch to Adesanya, he has since moved up to light-heavyweight and claimed his second UFC title there. Although most of his wins have come by way of knockout, he was also promoted to black belt in BJJ after defending his title at UFC 300. Throughout all of this, Pereira’s sons have been watching as their father becomes an elite competitors in two different sports and one of them has even expressed a desire to follow in his footsteps. It’s clear that combat sports is going to be the family business, so Pereira shared some footage of him grappling with his sons while they celebrated Christmas.
The footage of Alex Pereira grappling with his sons was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of Full Send MMA:
