"I cried" - Alex Pereira shares inspirational message after meeting fan who beat cancer, recalls shaving his head during previous visit

Alex Pereira has put forth an inspirational message after meeting a fan who beat cancer. 'Poatan' highlighted that he'd previously met the same fan and even shaved the latter's head.

In June 2024, Pereira received considerable praise after his heartfelt gesture toward children and families dealing with cancer. He collaborated with the West Melbourne, Australia-based 'Challenge,' which is a not-for-profit organization supporting children and their families who are fighting cancer.

Pereira visited the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, and met many young fans. Over the course of the trip, he also met a few older fans, who were fighting cancer.

One of the fans was a Muay Thai practitioner, who requested Pereira to shave his (the fan's) hair off, indicating that he was going to lose his hair due to the scheduled cancer treatment. 'Poatan' obliged and shaved the fan's hair. The kickboxing and MMA legend then appeared to shed tears after the emotional encounter.

Watch Pereira fulfill the fan's request, and shave his head, in the slides below:

Coming to the here and now, in February 2025, Alex Pereira has shared an inspirational message. The former UFC middleweight champion and reigning UFC light heavyweight champion posted an Instagram video of himself with the same fan, featuring highlights from their previous as well as most recent meeting.

Both Pereira and the fan, who the UFC star referred to as "Ashton," confirmed that the latter has been cancer-free for three months. 'Poatan' highlighted that he'd met the fan at "the Institute of cancer" in Australia.

In the video, Pereira explained that Ashton told him he was training Muay Thai but had to stop due to cancer. He further explained that the youngster underwent treatment and beat the disease. The MMA great notably recalled their previous encounter and stated:

"It was something very emotional; very heavy for me. I cried. I got emotional."

Moreover, in a statement attached to the Instagram post, he expressed his respect for the fan. The Brazilian fighter wrote:

"I am not an example of how to overcome obstacles as difficult as cancer, but here I bring you an example of someone who overcame cancer."

Check out the video and statement in Pereira's Instagram post below:

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UFC champion Alex Pereira's social welfare work

Alex Pereira's humanitarian work has been lauded by fans and experts alike. Pereira's visit to some of his fans dealing with cancer earned him appreciation from various combat sports personalities. He's currently considered one of the UFC's biggest stars and is booked to defend his light heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 on March 8, 2025.

Alex Pereira generally keeps most of his social welfare work away from the public eye, so as to ensure that the work isn't misperceived as something done for personal brand value/gain. Nevertheless, he does occasionally shed light on some of the work done to help large sections of society and spread a message of positivity.

Back in 2024, the UFC chronicled how Pereira returned to and served his roots, his old neighborhood in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he distributed numerous boxes of food supplies and other essentials to those in need.

Watch Alex Pereira discuss the topic below: