MMA fans react to Alex Pereira's prank inside the cage, as UFC return looms on the horizon
Combat sports superstar Alex Pereira has showcased the funny side of his personality as fans await his return to the Octagon.
Alex Pereira, famed for his stoicism and serious demeanor, is also known to showcase the funny side of his personality from time to time.
The former two-division Glory Kickboxing champion has now, yet again, piqued fan interest by displaying his comedic facet with a prank on a training partner.
Alex Pereira pranks training partner by pretending to get choked unconscious, surprising him thereafter
In a video posted to his official Instagram handle, former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira was seen collaborating with his coach Plinio Cruz to prank a fellow athlete. The individual they targeted in the video was boxer and Sanda fighter Ahmed Samir Hefny.
Pereira initially appeared to tell Cruz about what he planned to do. The coach then approached Samir and instructed him to apply a tough squeeze in a choke submission maneuver against "Poatan."
The fighter obliged while subsequently grappling with Pereira inside the MMA training cage, and the Brazilian pretended to lose consciousness. Samir, understandably concerned, checked on him, only to be startled by a smiling Pereira. The Egyptian athlete thereby realized he'd been pranked by the UFC superstar.
Watch Alex Pereira's prank on his training partner below:
MMA and UFC fans react to Alex Pereira's prank; the combat sports legend's Octagon return looms large
Netizens soon chimed in with their reactions to Alex Pereira's prank, with a number of them suggesting that Ahmed Samir Hefny was worried that he'd caused the UFC staple serious bodily harm or worse. Taking to the Instagram post's comments section, a fan wrote, "Deleted the homie lol."
Meanwhile, another fan indicated that the athlete was probably terrified at having drawn Pereira's ire by choking him out: "He's already scared when Poatan wakes up." A commenter, in the same vein, wrote, "Don't laugh, otherwise Poatan will be mad at you hahaha."
Some observers harked back to Pereira's most recent professional MMA matchup, which was his heavyweight divisional debut. It witnessed him suffer a vicious second-round TKO defeat at the hands of Ciryl Gane, who thereby captured the interim UFC heavyweight championship. "Bon Gamin" was recently promoted to become the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion.
Addressing the fight, a fan jibed at Pereira with a reference to his catchphrase, "Chama," stating, "Bon Gamin whooped Chama so hard he became a full-time influencer." On the contrary, one commenter lauded Samir's compassion toward him, writing, "I love how much he cared for your well-being."
Currently, Pereira and the UFC have yet to officially announce his next fight, while the vast majority of MMA fans and experts eagerly await his return to the Octagon. Speculation has abounded that with Josh Hokit booked to fight Ciryl Gane for the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 334 on November 14, Pereira's next opponent could be Sergei Pavlovich. The winner of their potential fight could bag the next title shot.
Check out the screenshots of a few fan reactions to Alex Pereira's prank at the gym below:
