Alex Pereira was greeted like a hero returning from war upon his arrival in South Korea.
Pereira has been spotted in South Korea on a well-deserved holiday after defending his UFC light heavyweight title three times in 2024.
The champion knocked out Jamahal Hill at UFC 300, before head-kicking Jiri Prochazka in June and eventually putting away Khalil Rountree Jr in a bloody affair four months later.
Footage has emerged on social media in the last few days of Pereira getting up to all sorts on his travels, including sparring with a professional boxer and smashing a fan with repeated body shots.
On Tuesday, ‘Poatan’ posted a remarkable encounter with a fan on Instagram after he had splashed the cash in designer stores Gucci and Louis Vuitton.
In the video, the 37-year-old Brazilian punches a fan six times in a row with a white glove on his right hand, with each blow seemingly getting progressively harder.
Incredibly, the fan stands his ground and asks Pereira to keep going until the UFC champ finally stops six shots later.
Pereira even acknowledged the camera at the end of the encounter as if to say how impressed he was that the fan was able to take all of his shots without barely moving.
Fans took to X and reacted to the wild video of Periera’s punches.
One said: “Bro had a bullet proof vest on, ain’t no way”, while another added: “That’s actually wild.”
A third jokingly commented: “Found dead two hours later.”
Pereira was first seen in action in South Korea for the first time on Monday alongside South Korean-American actor and film producer Don Lee, as well as fellow combat sports athletes.
In what looked to be an open workout inside of a South Korean gym, Pereira was spotted sparring very hard with two unknown likely professional boxers.
Both men, especially the second fighter, seemed to be intent on trading blows with Pereira as hard as they possibly could and at times the scrap reflected more of a real fight than practice.
One fan claimed on X that the more talented of the two fighters was an Olympic boxer, who has been the best South Korean amateur for years.
Overall the viral video was very impressive, as the Korean boxer took everything to the chin. However, one man by the name of Conor McGregor didn’t seem to like what he saw.
“Pointless,” the UFC legend said in a now-deleted X post.
Another fan seemed to agree with the former UFC two-division champion by saying: “Sparring like that with no headgear is reckless.”
A third added: “The second guy was pretty good,” with a fourth saying: “That power is terrifying”.
Pereira seems to enjoy being on the move with his team in between fight camps he endures for his title fights.
In the last week, he has been called out by UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who is insistent on not fighting interim champion Tom Aspinall for the ultimate legacy fight.
Jones overcame a disappointing Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 on Saturday night, with the latter retiring at 42 after the bout.
There has been no response from Pereira’s party to Jones’ comments yet, but it is likely he would have to fight Magomed Ankalaev first.
No.1 ranked light heavyweight Ankalaev claimed a unanimous-decision victory over Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308 in October to keep his spot as the division’s number one contender.
He has lost just one fight of his 14 total fights in Dana White’s promotion since making his debut in March 2018.
