Accused of partaking in dark magic and ritualistic dealings during his UFC tenure, Alex Pereira apparently derives secret powers from his Pataxo roots. At least that’s what his arch nemesis believes.
Pereira, who has yet to be booked for his return to action, is expected to return as soon as August in an attempt to regain the light heavyweight title from Magomed Ankalaev.
Coming unstuck for the first time at the light heavyweight limit at UFC 313 last month, a lot had been made of Pereira’s preparation — or lack thereof, in fact. But only a few months ago, the Sao Paulo star was untouchable, with three successful title defenses in 2023.
In the lead-up to his win against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295, the Polish fighter had questioned his involvement in voodoo tactics. While Pereira had seemingly convinced Prochazka of his innocence back then, Israel Adesanya has managed to dig up the past on the Pound4Pound podcast.
Having lost to the knockout artist thrice in his combat sports career, Adesanya claimed there was something funky about Pereira, to say the least.
“People talk about the spirit realm and stuff,” Adesanya said on the Pound-4-Pound podcast. The City Kickboxing star then referred to his own Nigerian roots and claimed at his countrymen understood the power of ancient rituals.
Notably, Pereira’s last foray to meet his tribe in Brazil had gone viral courtesy of his alleged inhalation of DMT to reconnect with his roots. In his own words, the former champion was recharging his spirit with the energy of his ancestors.
View this post on Instagram
Responding to the video and many more such trips, Adesanya claimed that, “The village people are praying yeah, they’re doing their own rituals.”
“Honestly, man, he (Alex Pereira) he has this thing,” he added, noting, “He recovers well. But also, his spirit. He just knows how to [beats chest] — from within, just bring it forth — you feel it. I don’t know how to describe it, unless you’re in there with him.”
Interestingly, earlier this year during UFC 312, Pereira and Adesanya were sat together in the audience having gotten past their rivalry. The two spoke about training together. Adesanya had even asked about Peira’s tribe and promised to visit the region with him when he was in town.
So while Adesanya’s claims seem to have come from a space of genuine admiration for Pereira’s culture, Prochazka’s accusations before him had an ugly edge to them.
Prochazka’s fear of magic
The self-proclaimed hedonistic samurai, Prochazka, has fought Pereira twice in his career. The first time was at UFC 295, when he was the champion and Pereira had just moved into the 205 lbs division and secured a controversial win against Jan Blachowicz.
The fight was expected to be a closely contested affair, but the reality was far removed from expert analysis. After a round of calculated striking, Pereira caught Prochazka in a blitzkrieg in the second and snatched the title in an almost demeaning fashion.
The next time the two would fight would be at UFC 303 last year after Conor McGregor had pulled out of the Michael Chandler fight. UFC needed a star to replace him in the main event, and the Brazilian stepped in on short notice to defend his title against Prochazka.
Prochazka would again make some big claims, only to be outmatched in the striking department.
Dropped and stopped in the second round, he then claimed to have seen “something” in Pereira’s eyes during fight week. Particularly during their pre-fight weigh-in face-off.
“He (Alex Pereira) is trying to play something,” Prochazka said.
“What he’s doing [is] some technique. It doesn’t matter. I’m pure, I don’t care I just want to show the pure performance. Who is the best?” he added.
In response, Pereira had vehemently denied practising dark magic, urging naysayers to refrain from accusing him of such, as well.
“Well, everybody has their own spirits,” Pereira said before UFC 303.
“We’re not only made of flesh and bone, I’ve found mine. If he (Prochazka) has not found his or if he does not believe, it’s not my fault,” he retorted in frustration.
