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A former UFC fighter, Pearl Gonzalez has lauded Alex Pereira’s journey from rags to riches.
Pereira will be looking to defend his UFC light heavyweight strap for the fourth time against top contender Magomed Ankalaev this weekend at UFC 313.
'Poatan's' journey includes dropping out of middle school, working in a tire shop, developing an alcohol problem, and then beginning kickboxing as a way to overcome it.
After overcoming alcoholism and rising to the top to become a Glory kickboxing double champion and then a UFC double champion, Pereira has inspired many.
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'Poatan' recently reminisced about his troubled times and how difficult it was to simply buy the necessities.
SportsCenter NEXT on Instagram celebrated the Brazilian UFC champion's journey from a tire shop worker to a UFC champion by sharing several pictures in a post and captioning it:
"Tire shop worker ➡️ UFC champion 🏆 Alex Pereira's journey to provide for his family is inspiring 👏 (via @alexpoatanpereira)"
Check out the post below highlighting Alex Pereira’s journey:
The post caught the attention of Pearl Gonzalez who lauded 'Poatan'. She wrote:
"Great man.. Amazing Dad! 🙏🏽🏹"
Check out Pearl Gonzalez's comment below:
![Pearl Gonzalez's comment. [Screenshot courtesy: @sportscenternext on Instagram]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/8c867-17413753687115-1920.jpg)
Alex Pereira has some words of motivation ahead of UFC 313
In UFC 313 Embedded: Vlog Series - Episode 2, Alex Pereira was spotted sitting with his team and providing motivation by discussing how one should succeed in all spheres of life.
'Poatan' continued his speech and talked about how he overcame alcoholism and how it is an incredible accomplishment in and of itself.
"I’m sure that if I wasn’t a champion today, if I changed my life… I stopped drinking after four years of training. I already won. That’s a victory. So I’m a champion in life. That's it. Thank you for everything. Thank you for the motivation. That’s it. Chama."
Check out Alex Pereira's comments below (2:04):
