Alex
Pereira received a special tribute on Brazilian TV this past
Sunday. | Getty/UFC
Scheduled to face Ciryl Gane
in the co-main event of the
UFC White House card on June 14, Alex
Pereira received a tribute this past Sunday on one of Brazil’s
highest-rated programs.
During an appearance on „Domingao com Huck“ on TV Globo, “Poatan” was welcomed
by host Luciano Huck, who, through testimonials from family members
and videos of the most important fights of his career, recalled the
entire history of the Brazilian idol. This included his
impoverished childhood, the loss of his murdered brother, his
battle with alcoholism and working at the tire shop. There were
dozens of emotional testimonials from his children, brother,
mother, friends from the tire shop, manager Jorge Guimarães and
children from his social project.
But without a doubt, what moved “Poatan” the most were the words of
his father, Antonio, who spoke about the pride he feels for his
son.
“Alex, I don’t even have words to talk about you,” the father said.
“You know we’re very shy, that sometimes we search for words of
praise and they don’t come. But the heart speaks louder than the
mouth. Thank God I fulfilled my dream seeing you. It’s very
difficult for someone to have a son like you, and today I have you,
my son…”
A Champion of Life
At the end of the video, Pereira wiped away tears, thanked the
program for the tribute and recalled everything he had experienced
to reach the top of the sport.
“I am very happy to be remembering everything that happened in my
life,” he said. “… We went through difficulties, but thank God I
managed to overcome them… If today I wasn’t a Glory champion or a
UFC champion, but a champion of life, that would already be very
important. Many people end up facing problems with drugs, alcohol
or depression —and sport has been saving lives. Me becoming a
champion of life, for me, would already be good.”
The nearly 12-minute tribute on one of TV Globo’s highest-rated
programs impressed sports fans. Since 2023, when Canal Combate (a
Globo network pay channel) lost the rights to broadcast UFC, the
promotion has ceased to be reported on Globo news programs, and its
fighters have never again been invited to be part of the
programming of Globo’s main entertainment programs and its other
channels.
The nearly 12-minute tribute to “Poatan” on one of the network’s
highest-rated programs, just months after UFC arrived on Paramount,
a direct competitor of Globoplay (Globo´s streaming), could signify
either a possible political shift at the network or simply an
understanding that in today’s world, where social media has a
greater impact than open television, it’s better to acknowledge the
greatness of stars who break through the sports bubble.