Two-division UFC champion Alex Pereira is a one-of-a-kind and maybe a once-in-a-lifetime type of fighter

LAS VEGAS -- Tom Brady was famously chosen 199th in the 2000 NFL Draft and went on to become the greatest quarterback in history. In the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft, there were 1,388 players chosen before the Los Angeles Dodgers picked Mike Piazza. Piazza went on to become a 12-time all-star, one of the greatest offensive catchers in history and a 2016 inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Alex Pereira's journey to the top of his sport mirrors those legends' rise. He was an outstanding kick boxer, but UFC CEO Dana White freely admits he didn't hold high hopes for Pereira when the Brazilian signed with the UFC in 2021. He was 33 when he signed and made his debut against Andreas Michailidis on Nov. 6, 2021, at UFC 268.

"He had this long kick boxing career, and was older coming into the UFC," White said at the post-fight news conference Saturday when asked if he had high expectations for Pereira after first signing him. "I thought the exact opposite. I thought, 'This guy is not going to do very well here. He'll get taken down, smashed, submitted.' All that kind of stuff. Man, was I wrong!"

It was almost impossible to see this coming.

Pereira won his fourth straight bout on Saturday when he knocked Jiri Prochazka out with a brutal kick to the head just 15 seconds into the second round to successfully defend his light heavyweight championship in the main event of UFC 303 before 18,881 at T-Mobile Arena. Pereira had dropped Prochazka, a former light heavyweight champion, at the bell to end Round 1 with a punishing left hook. The fight would not have gone on if there were even five seconds left in the round, but referee Herb Dean allowed Prochazka to use the minute between rounds to recover.

It didn't help him.

Pereira has preternatural power, both in his punches and his kicks. But this guy doesn't simply overpower opponents, though he clearly has the ability to do that. He's a smart, observant fighter who is continually adding dimensions to his game. 

And after his coach, Plinio Cruz, showed him an Instagram video of Prochazka warming up, Pereira knew what he had to do. Saturday's bout was a rematch of a title showdown at UFC 295 in New York in November, another Pereira second-round knockout win. In that fight, Pereira used calf kicks to chop at Prochazka's legs.

“Actually, I was in the locker room talking to Plinio, one of my coaches, and he showed me the video of Jiri warming up,” Pereira said. “I saw that he was planning to counter the calf kick. Defend and counter. But I told Plinio that he was doing the wrong timing, the timing was not good.

“So I saw that he was too focused on not taking that kick and he was keeping his hands down and leaving the head exposed. So I told him, 'I’m going to explore the high kick.' ”

He was in Australia when he received the call on June 13 that he was asked to fight Prochazka in the UFC 303 main event. That replaced the planned Conor McGregor-Michael Chandler bout which fell out when McGregor broke a toe and had to withdraw. Pereira had an 18-hour flight to get home and immediately got to work. 

He made weight like a professional and showed more layers to his game.

“I think I’m still in the process of evolution of MMA," Pereira said. "I keep evolving a lot."

Since his third UFC bout, at UFC 276 on July 2, 2022, against Sean Strickland, Pereira has not faced anyone who hasn't held a UFC belt.

In order starting with UFC 276, he's fought Strickland, then Israel Adesanya twice, Jan Blachowicz, Prochazka, Jamahal Hill and then Prochazka again. He's gone 6-1 in that stretched, getting KO'd by Adesanya and knocking out Strickland, Adesanya, Hill and Prochazka twice. 

Perhaps only Jon Jones has had a superior run, though that's not for sure. If Jones' run is superior, there aren't many others, though, who come close.

He said he'd like a shot at the heavyweight title, currently held by Jones. A win would make him the first man in UFC history to hold championships in three weight classes, following his championships at middleweight and light heavyweight.

It would be a massive accomplishment if he were to be able to pull it off. He weighed in at 230 pounds on Saturday morning, having rehydrated 25 pounds after coming in at 204.5 with no issues at Friday's weigh-in.

“I think that’s in my future,” Pereira said of a move to heavyweight. “I said it last time I was here. … I’m here, I’m available, and I  think that’s in my future.”

White said he feels Pereira still has work to do at light heavyweight -- Magomed Ankalaev is the obvious next choice if he stays at 205 -- and said he's not sure 'Poatan' is big enough to effectively compete at heavyweight.

“If he cleaned out the division, and we were like, ‘There’s literally nobody for this guy to fight,’ and he’s 37, if he wants to move up to heavyweight [OK], but that’s not the case,” White said. “You said he was 230 today, right? Chuck [Liddell] and Forrest Griffin used to walk around at 230 and they would cut down to 205. That’s not big. Some of these heavyweights are 265. They’re cutting to 265. It’s just a whole other level.”

So far, Pereira has handled pretty much every other level and every challenge he's seen.

He deserves that opportunity at history. It would be massive for him, for the fans and for the sport.