One of the best kickboxers in the world, Alex Pereira, is continuing his journey at light heavyweight at Glory 78. The former middleweight champion moved up to win the interim belt in 2019 and eventually beat Artem Vakhitov for the undisputed title at Glory 77 last January. But with the win being a split decision, the two decided to run it back. Pereira looks to put a stamp on his title reign by finishing Vakhitov this time around and has plans for much bigger fights on the horizon.
Pereira has practically been saved by kickboxing. Starting out later than some in life, Pereira used kickboxing to kick some habits he needed to get rid of. It turned out that he was pretty good at the sport and took to it naturally.
“I started in 2009, when I was 21 years old. My goal was to have a better quality of life. I trained hard for a year until my debut as an amateur. Then I won many titles, and after three years I went to professional. At that time my main goal was to stop drinking — I drank a lot that time. This sport was fundamental for change my life. After four years I managed to get sober. Then my career took off and I never stopped.”
Outside of fighting, Pereira has his hobbies. While he’s done away with drinking four years now, he spends more of his free time cooking and in finding himself in new hobbies.
“I really like cooking,” Pereira says. “I’m always making Brazilian barbecue and stuff like that. Now that I’m in the US, I’m also doing a lot of archery. It became a passion that I intend to follow from now on.”
The Rematch: Pereira vs. Artem Vakhitov 2
Pereira is a student of combat sports. He’s spent his time learning to be better. Going into the rematch, Pereira could rest on his laurels; he did beat the champion after all. But he and his team have remained students and are looking to go with the flow and take what Vakhitov brings to them.
“I’m training hard for this fight like I always did. We’re always changing some aspects. I fought smart and more tactical in the last fight and I could do the same thing in the next one, or I could be more aggressive. I’m prepared for everything. I don’t know how the fight will be, it doesn’t just depend on me.”
But capturing the belt a weight class up was no real pleasure for Pereira. He says that wins against others far supersede this one. Pereira was not a fan of the fight Vakhitov brought the first time.
“Beating Vakhitov was not my favorite moment at Glory. I prefer to value braver opponents who were in the ring to do or die. My performances against Simon Marcus, Donegi Abena and Jason Wilnis, for example, were much better because the guys went up to the ring to give a show and they valued my victories.”
With rumors of a move to MMA and a step up to heavyweight, the kickboxing world is Pereira’s oyster. Weather it be him jaunting around between MMA and kickboxing, or a full transfer, fans are rabid trying to see what Pereira will do next in his already legendary career. When asked about a potential uber-fight with heavyweight kingpin, Rico Verhoeven, Pereira said it would be nice, but he’s not thinking past Vakhitov for now.
“Yes, as I said, this is the intention. But it would take long-term work. I have the strength and height for that, but I don’t have the necessary weight. I am 34 years old and would have to think seriously about it. The rematch against Artem will be my last fight with Glory. My plans are up to this fight. Then we’ll sit down and talk to Glory to see what we’re going to do.”
Pereira has been dabbling in MMA and believes the split time has elevated his kickboxing game. He points to the footwork in the last fight with Vakhitov as a product of his MMA training. Getting to train with athletes like Glover Teixeira has brought new aspects to Pereira’s game.
“MMA training is definitely helping me a lot for kickboxing. I had already did MMA training in the other teams I trained in Brazil. Now I’m on a team whose strong point is MMA, but there’s also a good striking team. That clever footwork I did in the last fight against Artem came from the trainings with Glover here (in the US). This helped me a lot. Right now I’m doing a similar thing, but focused on the evolutions that each new challenge needs.”
Pereira and Glory Kickboxing haven’t always been on the same page, but the kickboxing sensation and the promotion have come to grow accustomed to each other. Now the two have a fantastic working relationship and Pereira is happy with how everything has come along.
“Glory is every kickboxer’s dream and with me it was no different. I debuted in 2014 and I’m still in the organization today. It’s a giant legacy. It wasn’t easy to get to where I got, but I keep doing my job. There were problems in the past, but gradually my relationship with the company improved and that’s was essential.”
Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya 3? Don’t count on it…yet.
Any time the polarizing UFC middleweight champ tweets, the replies are rife with gifs of Pereira flatlining “The Last Stylebender.” Of course we had to ask about the fan favorite series. Pereira makes it abundantly clear that he has no intention of fighting Adesanya in kickboxing again. He makes it even clearer that if the two were to fight in MMA, the outcome would be disastrous for Adesanya.
“Fighting Adesanya again is still a distant thing for me now. We are in different organizations. If it was under kickboxing rules I wouldn’t like it either. We’ve already fought twice and I won both. Doesn’t make sense. But if it ever happened in MMA, with four-ounce gloves, he wouldn’t survive.”
But the focus is on Glory 78 and Vakhitov for now. Pereira says he can’t guarantee a dynamite fight this time. He’s only half the puzzle and it’s not completely up to him. He urges Vakhitov and his fans to do what they know is right: Come to fight.
“If it’s up to me, all fans can expect a show of fighting and aggressiveness. I’m sure they were very pleased. But as they are two different fighters, I can’t guarantee anything. I hope kickboxing fans and Vakhitov fans will put pressure on him to fight for real this time. The video of the first fight is on YouTube. Anyone who has any doubts about the result can watch and watch again. I wasn’t the champion, I fought smartly and I won the fight. Now as a champion, I can do the same thing. But that won’t be good for the public. We have to put on a show. For my part, this is guaranteed.”