Alex Pereira is now the people’s champ. Despite the Brazilian not being around in the organization for too long, he has gained a massive following in the short time he has been a part of the UFC. The UFC Light heavyweight champion will headline the historic UFC 300 card in what will just be his 8th fight in the UFC. Pereira’s personality, along with his sense of humor, backed by his performances inside the octagon, adds to his popularity significantly. Reflecting on his popularity with the fans, ‘Poatan’ has now claimed himself as ‘The People’s Champ’.
Fans love his authentic personality as he does not overdo things in order to trash-talk his opponents and other entities. Instead, Pereira throws subtle digs at them on social media and fans have come to love this side of ‘Poatan’. In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, ‘Poatan’ spoke about the honor of headlining UFC 300 and called himself a champion who keeps his fans first. His translator conveyed Pereira’s sentiments by saying,
“He stay grounded, and I think that’s what the UFC likes. Because wherever he goes, he treats people right, the fans love him…He’s not the kind of guy that talks too much, but he’s a people’s champ.”
Alex Pereira is ‘The People’s Champ’ according to his translator cum coach. Interestingly, the moniker dates back to the times when boxing legend Muhammad Ali had the same nickname. In combat sports, certain athletes just capture the attention of the fans and the fans adore them. Muhammad Ali had that, and more recently, WWE superstar, ‘The Rock’ also goes by ‘The People’s Champ’ moniker. Now Pereira also believes he is one of them.
Despite being a fan favorite, the UFC 300 main event consisting of Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill has faced a lot of backlash from fans who were expecting something bigger. However, Michael Bisping recently defended the main event of the historic card.
Michael Bisping defends Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill main event for UFC 300
There is a lot of hype around the historic UFC 300 main event. Michael Bisping spoke about how fans are only disappointed because they wanted a Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier kind of fight for the main event. In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, via Damon Martin on X, Michael Bisping defended the UFC 300 main event, saying,
“I think it’s an absolutely compelling fight, it is a legitimate title fight, and it’s the top of the bill as I say, of one of the best cards ever compiled…It is a fight that is worthy to headline the bill in my opinion.”
However, he believes Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill is just as worthy of a fight to headline UFC 300. Earlier, Dana White promised a ‘super fight’ for the UFC 300 main event and once the announcements were out, the excitement levels of the fans seemed to come crashing down. It is now up to Alex Pereira to deliver a superb performance and lift the fans’ spirits by being a true ‘People’s Champ’.
