“Poatan” Alex Pereira earned another left hook knockout tonight at UFC 276 against top-ranked UFC middleweight Sean Strickland. The Brazilian-born fighter is a former two-division champion in GLORY Kickboxing and was best known for his left hook knockouts. His left hook is so ubiquitous that his lone professional boxing bout was won via let hook KO. Across Boxing, Kickboxing, and MMA, Alex Pereira has an impressive list of left hook knockout finishes, on this list, we will count them down. Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya, and many other talented fighters have fallen to Alex Pereira’s lead hook.
Alex Pereira’s Top 5 Left Hook Knockouts
5. Alex Pereira vs Sean strickland – UFC 276
Pereira earned an impressive KO at UFC 276 earlier tonight against the streaking Sean Strickland. Strickland was riding on a six-fight win streak and nearly to a title before Poatan ended his night early in round one. This win now sets up a title rematch between Pereira and UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
4. Alex Pereira vs Israel Adesanya – Glory of Heroes 7
The knockout artist Pereira and UFC titleholder Adesanya met in 2017 in a competitive kickboxing bout at Glory of Heroes 7. This was a rematch from their 2016 fight in which Brazil’s Pereira won via unanimous decision. This time “The Last Stylebender” performed exceptionally well even earning a standing eight count. That is until Pereira stopped Adesanya in round three with a left hook. Between MMA, boxing, and kickboxing, this remains Adesanya’s only knockout loss. The Nigerian-born champion is now down two losses to Pereira, but the two will likely meet later this year with the UFC middleweight title on the line, and Adesanya will be seeking to avenge.
3. Alex Pereira vs Dustin Jacoby – GLORY 14
Both Alex Pereira and Dustin Jacoby are ranked in the UFC today but these two first met in the opening round of the GORY Middleweight Grand Prix in 2014. Pereira was able to corner and defeat Jacoby just two minutes into round one. Later this same night, the Brazilian fighter would earn the Glory Middleweight Contender Tournament title.
2. Alex Pereira vs Donegi Abena – GLORY 68
By 2019, Pereira had won and defended his GLORY middleweight title on multiple occasions, was a top pound-for-pound kickboxer, and was looking to become a two-division champion. He made his light heavyweight debut against the top-ranked Surinamese-Dutch kickboxer Donegi Abena. Poatan found success in this bout ending Abena’s night in round three with a left hook knockout, thus earning the interim Glory Light Heavyweight Championship. Abena is still a top-five ranked kickboxer at light heavyweight.
1. Alex Pereira vs Ertugrul Bayrak – Glory Collision 2
Turkey’s Ertugrul Bayrak had successfully put together a win streak to earn himself a title shot against the reigning GLORY middleweight champion “Poatan” Alex Pereira. The Brazilian champion only needed three minutes to defend his title, knocking out the top contender with a left hook in round one. This knockout victory earned Pereira his fifth title defense in GLORY Kickboxing. Bayrak is still actively fighting in GLORY and is ranked in the top three at middleweight
After Pereira’s scintillating knockout of Sean Stricklan at UFC 276, he finds himself sitting in the top contender position in Israel Adesanya’s middleweight division. Later this year, the Brazilian knockout king will look to unseat Adesanya ending his dominant championship title run in the UFC.
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