Over the summer, Ale🐽x Pereira stopped by the tire shop he used to work at in Brazil.
Not that the UFC light heavyweight champion — whose meteoric rise in MMA has made him one of thꦐe top combat sports stars in the world — is looking for his old job back, and not that this is an uncommon occurrence.
For “Poatan,” it’s important to stay attached to his roots as his career ascends closer to the sun, and that means staying in touch with the owner of Vila🧜 Nova Borracharia in Sao Paulo, where he says he honed the competitive spirit that pushes him to greatness in the cage today.
“It’s super i𒁃mportant to me,” Pereira recently told The Post via video call through interpreter and jiu-jitsu coach Plinio Cruz. “I don’t remember one time that I haven’t been in Sao Paulo, because Sao Paulo is my hometown, that I had not stopped there. Every time I go, I’m happy. The owner is super happy over there. It’s part of my story, so very important for me to stop by.”
Competition for Pereira clearly has evolved from the days of competing with co-𓆏workers to change a tire the fastest — though he gave it a shot again in a recent video shared on social media — to, now, preparing for his third title defense of the year on Saturday (10 p.m. Eastern, ESPN+ pay-per-view) in Salt Lake City, where he faces challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. in the UFC 307 main event.
Pereira (11-2, nine finishes) has made history in the UFC at breakneck speed, needing just two years and five dayꦰs to go from successful debut with the promotion to setting the record for fastest to win UFC titles in two weight classes — first at midd🐠leweight in 2022 and then light heavyweight a year later, both times being crowned at Madison Square Garden.
F𝐆or his next trick, Pereira can become just the fourth fighter of any weight or sex in UFC history to win four championship fights with🌠in a 12-month period, joining three fellow 205-pounders: Frank Shamrock (1997-98), Tito Ortiz (2000-01) and Jon Jones (2011-12).
In November, Pereira knocked out former champ Jiri Prochazka for the title the Czech originally vacated due to injury, followed in April by knocking out ex-champ Jamahal Hill who briefly held the title after P🌃rochazka before his own reign ended via injury, and again KO’d Prochazka in June to set up this fourth championship clash in just under 11 mon🌌ths.
“It absolutely matters for me to be making history,” Pereira says of his propensity to accomplish rare feats. “Also, I can be able to inspire people as an example to people who came from where I came from, to be able to get a better life for my family, for❀ myself. So I want to use that as motivation to inspire more people.”
This fight being barely a month away from the UFC’s annual November date at the Garden makes it all but a certainty Pereira will, for the first time since signing with the promotion in♌ 2021, not be💖 a part of the New York tentpole event.
Not that Pereira is dis༒appointed, but he has made it known previously now t🙈he Garden events rank high on his list of venues at which to compete.
“Like I’ve said before, Madison Square Garden๊ is like fighting at home. I only have to drive a bit over an hour and a half,” said Pereira, who trains at mentor and former UFC light heavyweight champ Glover Teixeira’s gym in Bethel, Conn. “So we🉐 have to move way less of the team that we will have for a fight like this, for example. It’s much better. But I’m a fighter. I fight anywhere.”
The same goes for opponents, as Pereira says he was just as willing to fight anticipated challenger ಌand No. 2 contender in the UFC rankings Magomed Ankalaev as he is to face Rountree, a surprising choice by the UFC for this spot given his No. 8 r𝓀anking.
Among the strengths of Ankalaev is grappling, an area which would figure to be the for🐻mer two-division Glory kickboxing champion’s weak point that has yet to be tested at a high level d💫uring his three-year UFC tenure.
Instead, Ankalaev will face fifth-ranked Aleksandar Rakic later this month, presumably teeing up the winner for a title sh✃ot.
Pereira said he does not know what factors led the UFC to book him instead against Rountree (13-5, nine finishes), a dark horse contender who has won five in a row — four by TKO — after just four victories in his first 10 UFC outings, ꦬbut the champ warmed up to the unusual booking after some initial perplexion.
“It was co🌱mpletely the UFC’s choice. At first, I didn’t understand it, either. I know at first, the fans were a bit shaky [about the idea],” Pereira says. “But I think that they are more hyped up about the [Rountree] fight, and I believe this is going to be a very good fight, so it’s going to be great for eve✅rybody.”
More potential history continues to hover in Pereira’s orbit, as he has tossed out there a willingness to fight up at heavyweight and chase a third divisional crown — no fighter has achieved tha🐻t feat in a major MMA organization.
Though UFC CEO Dana White has routinely took the wind out of the sails of such a pursuit, 💫Pereira has another idea White typically doesn’t like for his mixed martial artists: boxing.
“Dana mentioned that he’s going into boxing now. That’s also something that I would love to do,” Pereira says. “He’s going to have to have a face. He’s going to have to have a champion. ꧋I am ready for it.”