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Alex Pereira has become a massive star for the UFC over the previous year. It isn't just due to his penchant for jaw-dropping knockouts, though. Part of it stems from him being so taciturn, which subsequently causes him to catch fans off-guard with his brand of deadpan humor.
This is something he has used to his advantage numerous times with other fighters, either poking fun at them or responding to their trash talk with a brutal shutdown of their attempts.
Thus, it comes as no surprise that Pereira has humbled his rivals at certain points on social media.
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#5. Alex Pereira calls Anthony Smith's bluff
Alex Pereira and Anthony Smith had a fairly brief feud. The two men were nowhere close to each other in the rankings. Pereira was and remains the UFC light heavyweight champion, while Smith is an aging journeyman. Nevertheless, 'Lionheart' took it upon himself to denigrate Pereira.
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He belittled 'Poatan's' skill set, as he often does with other fighters. Finally, a fed-up Pereira called Smith's bluff, challenging him to a $50,000 wager on the Connect Cast podcast. While Smith accepted the challenge, Pereira egged him on even further by taking things to X/Twitter.
"Date: Whenever he has the courage"
What made it particularly cutting from Pereira is both the trolling nature of the tweet and the fact that Smith consistently failed to put himself in a position to even challenge him.
Whenever he'd get close to climbing the rankings, he'd suffer a crushing loss, adding salt to the wound of Pereira's dismissal of him as a threat. After all, if he can't even break into the top three, was he ever really that much of a threat?
#4. Alex Pereira pokes fun at Khamzat Chimaev
Khamzat Chimaev has an infamous habit of promising to soon see any new UFC champion between welterweight and light heavyweight. He has been issuing similar statements on social media for quite some time now, and Alex Pereira was quick to point this out on X/Twitter.
"Seems like this guy is in a labyrinth and doesn't know where to go..."
'Poatan' pokes fun at the fact that Chimaev spent large chunks of his career unsettled over which division he'll fight in, always issuing his 'See you soon' callout every time a new fighter captures the title. At one point, Chimaev even took aim at Pereira himself.
However, the fight, naturally, never materialized, despite Pereira entertaining the unbeaten Chechen's callout, promising to stun him with a much-improved wrestling game.
#3. Alex Pereira reminds Israel Adesanya of their respective combat sports records against each other
Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya were once well-known rivals, having faced each other in both kickboxing and MMA. However, at UFC 287, 'The Last Stylebender' had finally exacted his revenge by beating Pereira for the first time. Thereafter, he exhibited zero interest in another rematch with the Brazilian star.
He even claimed that his lone win over Pereira was a better quality win than any of Pereira's victories over him. This, however, brought 'Poatan' out on X/Twitter, who countered Adesanya's claims in biting fashion.
"KO'd in kickboxing then helped into stretcher. Defeated by in a decision. TKO'd in UFC. That's more of a quality win than one KO in UFC."
Pereira included an image with the tweet, which is one of Adesanya being given an oxygen mask after being knocked out cold by Pereira in their second kickboxing outing, which marked Adesanya's most devastating loss in the sport.
#2. Alex Pereira continues to troll Magomed Ankalaev
Magomed Ankalaev is desperate for a light heavyweight title shot. His first attempt at capturing 205-pound gold ended with a controversial draw against ex-champion Jan Błachowicz. Thereafter, Alex Pereira emerged to capture the belt and restore order in the UFC light heavyweight division.
Since then, Ankalaev has embarked on a two-fight win streak, all while trash-talking Pereira and vowing to beat him. For the most part, Pereira has remained dismissive of Ankalaev and recently took to X/Twitter to further frustrate him by claiming that he won't be given his expected title shot after all.
"It won't be Ankalaev!"
It is a troll job by Pereira, whose next opponent isn't entirely clear. While UFC CEO Dana White identified the surging Dagestani as the next title challenger in line, he also wasn't 100% opposed to the idea of 'Poatan' facing Jon Jones for heavyweight gold if both men pestered him for it.
#1. Alex Pereira trolls Jamahal Hill
Jamahal Hill has been deadset on rematching Alex Pereira ever since the embarrassing knockout loss he suffered against him at UFC 300. It has only led to 'Sweet Dreams' ramping up his trash talk, which hasn't been well-received by fans. Finally, in late November, it drew a cutting response from Pereira.
The former light heavyweight champion is scheduled to face Jiří Procházka at UFC 311, with Pereira hinting at a rematch if Hill emerges victorious. However, the first time he dangled the rematch in front of Hill, it was with a humiliating tweet.
"Calm down, my son. Pass this test and dad will give you a second chance."
The tweet infuriated Hill so much that it led to a confrontation at the UFC Performance Institute, which only further worsened Hill's image among the MMA fandom when Pereira challenged him to a fight then and there, throwing gloves at him, only for Hill to decline by asserting that he does not fight for free.
