When Alex Pereira hilariously scared Ariel Helwani with scream while re-enacting UFC walkout sequence, fans reacted: "Ariel sh*t his jocks"

Alex Pereira once re-enacted his UFC walkout sequence during an interaction with MMA personality Ariel Helwani. The sequence, wherein Pereira lets out what's believed to be a war cry, seemingly scared Helwani.

Pereira previously held the Glory middleweight and light heavyweight championships in the sport of kickboxing. The Brazilian later focused on the sport of MMA and went on to capture the UFC middleweight and light heavyweight championships. Currently, he doesn't hold a world title in either sport but is on a quest to reclaim UFC gold.

On The Ariel Helwani Show back in January 2025, then-UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira was welcomed by host Ariel Helwani for an in-studio interview. Pereira notably enacted his signature UFC/combat sports walkout, steadily approaching Helwani, engaging in the symbolic bow and arrow maneuver, and later letting out a war cry.

They then greeted one another, and Helwani indicated that the sequence scared him. The veteran MMA journalist stated:

"Oh my God. You scared the sh*t out of me."

Check out the moment below:

Watch the complete episode below:

Fans weighed in, with multiple X users expressing their support for Alex Pereira. On the other hand, one user insinuated that Helwani was "fake" and had allegedly spoken against Pereira's son in the past.

Meanwhile, some commenters adopted a more lighthearted approach toward the interaction. An observer appeared to jestingly suggest that Pereira's famed left hook almost connected with Helwani:

"That left hook was close to the nose"

Similarly, some alluded to Pereira's war cry and walkout being truly terrifying. One fan asserted:

"'oh my god you scared the sh*t out of me' I felt that"

Others wrote:

"But that 'Chama' at the end"

"how can anyone hate this man"

"Ariel sh*t his jocks #chama"

Check out a few reactions below:

Screenshots of tweets

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Ariel Helwani predicted Alex Pereira would beat Magomed Ankalaev, was later lambasted by the new champion

Earlier this month, Ariel Helwani addressed the UFC 313 fight between then-UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and then-challenger Magomed Ankalaev.

Helwani predicted that Ankalaev's excessive pursuit of the takedown could backfire. Though he acknowledged that the grappling savant was a tough stylistic matchup for Pereira, he warned that he'd get knocked out by the Brazilian in a stand-up battle:

"I think Pereira wins this fight, and I wouldn't be surprised if he knocks out Ankalaev."

Ultimately, Magomed Ankalaev outpointed Alex Pereira at UFC 313 to become the new light heavyweight champion, even wobbling 'Poatan' with strikes. Ankalaev subsequently lambasted many critics, including Helwani, who'd questioned his ability to strike with Pereira.

Ahead of a potential Ankalaev vs. Pereira rematch that's expected to transpire sometime this year, the Dagestani fighter took aim at Ariel Helwani by tweeting a clown emoji in response to his aforementioned pre-fight prediction.