"From sitting in a bar watching Izzy talk smack to this" - Fans get emotional over "wholesome" Alex Pereira moment at Toronto meet-and-greet

UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira has achieved rapid growth in the sport of MMA and amassed a large fan following in the process. A massive fan gathering at Pereira’s UFC 297 meet-and-greet proved that.

Pereira is in Toronto, Canada to attend UFC 297 and fulfill his promotional duties. A wholesome video of him interacting with fans for the meet-and-greet was recently posted on @mma_frenzy X account.

The Brazilian fighter is known for superbly hiding his emotions and generally remains stoic in every situation. However, it seemed like he broke the character after looking at the sea of people who came to catch a glimpse of him.

Fans cheered and roared for ‘Poatan’ as he appeared to be pleased and overwhelmed with emotions looking at the support he received from a largely Canadian crowd.

Watch the video below:

Fans shared their thoughts on the video in the comments section. Most notably, some fans brought up his archrival Israel Adesanya's 'bar story' to highlight Pereira's massive growth.

Check out the fan reactions below:

Fan reactions to Alex Pereira's meet and greet video

Pereira, who has been dealing with a relationship issue of late, has not allowed personal troubles to distract him from the fight game and closely followed the ongoing affairs in the UFC.

Recently, UFC middleweight title contender Dricus Du Plessis expressed the desire to fight the 36-year-old in the future. Pereira promptly responded to the comments and dismissed the possibility of the fight taking place.

Since making his UFC debut in 2021, ‘Poatan’ has won UFC titles in two weight classes. He won the UFC light heavyweight title by defeating former champion Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 in November 2024.

Since then, he has been linked for a trilogy fight against Adesanya, former 205-pound champion Jamahall Hill, and interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. However, the date of his return and the next opponent have not been announced so far.