Alex Pereira's tattoos and the meaning behind them

Alex Pereira is heralded among the most dangerous KO artists to have ever competed in the sports of kickboxing and MMA. The 36-year-old Brazilian fighter held the Glory middleweight and light heavyweight titles during his kickboxing career.

He subsequently transitioned to MMA on a full-time basis and joined the UFC. 'Poatan' captured the UFC middleweight title by knocking out Israel Adesanya in November 2022.

After losing the title to 'The Last Stylebender' in April 2023, Pereira moved up in weight and captured the UFC light heavyweight title in November of that year.

Alex Pereira is regarded as a man of few words, letting his actions speak louder. Additionally, he's also known to utilize tattoos as a form of self-expression. Pereira has around 15 visible tattoos on his body.

Speaking to Glory back in 2018, Pereira provided a closer look at some of his tattoos. He had a tattoo of a Glory belt on his left arm and the word 'kickboxing' tattooed on his right abdominal area.

He suggested that although the Glory title would eventually be held by someone else, the fact that he won the title would be an unerasable part of his legacy. Besides, in regards to the kickboxing tattoo, 'Poatan' highlighted that taking up kickboxing as a youth helped him recover from alcohol and party addiction to change his life for good.

Pereira, who belongs to the Pataxo indigenous tribe of Brazil, also has three tattoos spread across his limbs representing his Native Indian heritage. He explained that this was an acknowledgment of his warrior ancestors.

The striking savant also has tattoos of a gorilla, a jaguar, and three dragons. He also got a tattoo of the Koi Fish, later learning about the mythical story of a Koi Fish successfully making its way up a river to the top of a mountain and transforming into a dragon.

Alex Pereira has also got a tattoo of boxing gloves, signifying his boxing prowess, more specifically, an ode to his kickboxing roots. He also has the names of his sons tattooed on his arms -- the name Alessandro on his left arm and Lohan on the right. Moreover, Pereira got a UFC belt tattooed on his right arm after beating Adesanya in late 2022.

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Alex Pereira's animal tattoos and their connection with his fighting style

After his loss against Israel Adesanya in April 2023, Alex Pereira moved up to the light heavyweight division and bested Jan Blachowicz in July 2023. Pereira thereby earned a shot at the vacant UFC light heavyweight title. He defeated Jiri Prochazka to win the title at UFC 295 on Nov. 11, 2023.

As for Alex Pereira's tattoos of animals, he indicated that they symbolized his ferocious, yet intelligent, fighting style. Addressing the dragon tattoos, he explained that his first dragon tattoo was one he got at 18, and it didn't mean anything. However, the other two are ones that he loves. Moreover, expounding upon the significance of his gorilla and jaguar tattoos, Pereira stated:

"The gorilla represents a lot to me. It's a strong, independent animal, with a strong connection to nature... Besides being a very strong and athletic animal, the Brazilian jaguar is also very smart and ruthless. In my fights, I try to be like that too. I hunt for my prey and then finish it without mercy."

Check out Pereira's comments at 6:06 in the video below: