UFC 300 is the biggest UFC event and the greatest fight card in the history of the promotion. There was a lot of speculation on who would headline the fight, and some were surprised when it was announced that Alex Pereira would be the champion fighting in the main event.
Pereira is more than worthy of holding that honor, and he will surely deliver with an entertaining performance on April 13. In this article, we are going to take a closer look at Alex Pereira's net worth, which as it stands, is around $3 million.
Alex Pereira's net worth in 2024 (estimate): $3 million
Alex Pereira is currently the Light Heavyweight Champion of the UFC, and in 2024, his net worth is estimated to be around $3 million. However, sources slightly vary in what his net worth truly is. Mmasalaries.com states that it is $2 million, and sportskeeda.com claims that he is worth $3 million.
The majority of Pereira's net worth does come from his time in the octagon, and it is a truly special thing that the fighter nicknamed Poatan is now a millionaire, considering where he was at one point in his life.
Pereira is from Brazil, and he didn't even pass middle school. He spent time as a bricklayer's assistant and as an employee in a tire shop. At one point in his life, Pereira was even an alcoholic. The fight game turned around Pereira's life, though, and he is now one of only nine fighters to be a double champion in the UFC.
Pereira has seven UFC fights to his name, but he had a long and successful career kickboxing as well. Pereira's last three fights have been the two that paid him the most handsomely. He reportedly made $1.24 million at UFC 287 with a base salary of $500,000 and $700,000 in pay-per-view shares. It is believed that he made $1.1 million at UFC 191 after beating Jan Blachowicz, and most recently, he made $1.1 million when he became the Light Heavyweight Champion of Jiri Prochazka.
Additionally, Pereira has made a decent amount of money through endorsement deals. He doesn't speak English, which can make it hard for some companies to market him, but Pereira is a fan favorite and one of the most beloved fighters in the sport, meaning he has a cult following of sorts in MMA. Pereira has endorsement deals with OWNIC and AthletiCBD.
Alex Pereira's early career
To help with his alcohol addiction, Pereira first started kickboxing in 2009. His career really picked up steam in 2014 when he won Glory 14. In kickboxing, Pereira went on to become the Glory Middleweight and Glory Light Heavyweight Champion, becoming the first fighter in the promotion's history to simultaneously hold belts from two different weight classes.
He also famously collected two kickboxing wins over Israel Adesanya. The two formed a memorable rivalry that is still alive to this day. Adesanya went on to become a UFC champion and famously called Pereira out for being a nobody who would tell people at bars that he once beat him, via Sporting News Australia.
“He watches all my fights, and every time I fight, like clockwork, he'll try and put something out like I beat this guy,” Adesanya said. “But I've never ever watched any of his fights, ever, so at the end of the day no one knows who the f**k he is and he is going to be that guy when I'm world champion, and I'm a legend, he's going to be at some pub talking some s**t about I beat that guy.”
Alex Pereira's UFC career
The interview reportedly motivated Pereira to pursue MMA and come for Adesyana, who was already a UFC star by this point. Pereira signed with the UFC in September of 2021, and he made his debut with the company at UFC 268, where he knocked out Andreas Michailidis. Pereira's Performance of the Night immediately put him into the spotlight, and he next took on a bigger name in Bruno Silva. Again, Pereira collected a win.
Pereira then took on Sean Strickland, a future UFC champion and one of the biggest stars in the company. His first-round knockout against one of the best defensive fighters in the sport proved that he was the real deal and earned him a fight against his biggest rival.
Pereira took on Adesanya for the middleweight championship at UFC 281. The fight was highly anticipated because of the two's history together, and Pereira capitalized. He became the champion and handed Adesanya only his second loss in the UFC. Pereira did lose the rematch at UFC 287, but he became a star and established one of the greatest rivalries in the sport.
After losing to Adesanya, Pereira moved up to Light Heavyweight. He beat former champion Jan Blachowicz before getting another title shot for the vacant light heavyweight belt. At UFC 295, Pereira beat Jiri Prochazka and became only the ninth UFC fighter to become champion in two different divisions.
Pereira became a double champion quicker than any fighter before him, and he did it largely because of his kickboxing experience. Pereira is widely regarded as the best leg kicker in the UFC. He deals a lot of damage on opponents legs and then capitalizes when their mobility is weakened. After his last victory, he called out his longtime rival (via mmafighting.com), but before he gets another shot at Adesanya, he will be headlining the biggest fight card in UFC history.
UFC 300 is set to be historic, and Pereira will fight in the main event against Jamahal Hill. Hill was the former Light Heavyweight champion, but he vacated his belt because of an achilles injury. Pereira deals so much damage on opponents legs that he will want to focus on that against Hill in what will be the former champions first fight back from injury.
Pereira started his UFC career late, as he is already 36 years old. He has done so much in so little time, though, that he has already established himself as a legend. He can further cement his legacy by getting his first succesful title defense at UFC 300, and he will have to do it in front of tons of eyes, as the event is expected to be one of the biggest in UFC history.
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