Scouting Report: Alex Pereira

Alex Pereira

Born: July 7, 1987 (Age: 35) in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Division: Middleweight
Height: 6’4”
Reach: 80”
Record: 6-1 (3-0 UFC)
Association: Teixeira MMA
Stage of Career: Unknown due to his lack of experience.

Summary: Pereira remains something of a mystery man in MMA. He is an outstanding striker who possesses one of the best left hooks in the sport, but he is lacking in other areas—his jab and leg kicks, for instance. He also has perfect, textbook footwork and sound defense, making him difficult for opponents to touch. His grappling is another question mark. It was good enough for him to avoid being submitted or taking major damage against Andreas Michailidis, though he did lose a round. While his striking skills may be declining because of his age, his aptitude for grappling and other phases of MMA may be increasing.

STRIKING

• Stance: Orthodox.
• Hand Speed: Slightly above average.
• Jab: Hard and straight but slightly telegraphed and inaccurate.
• Cross: Impactful and technical but somewhat telegraphed.
• Left Hook: A sudden, fast shot with a perfect, tight arc and nice rotation with legitimate knockout power. Capable of leaving opponents out cold. Can catch opponents moving forward with the punch, as he did with Sean Strickland. Likes to open up with the shot, too.
• Overhand Right: Does not throw it often.
• Uppercuts: Rarely uses them.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: Definitely far more of a one-shot sniper.
• Favorite Combinations: The one-two, and while the jab is a little worrisome, the cross is straight, hard and delivered with conviction.
• Leg Kicks: Shockingly light, though it they are fast and difficult to counter.
• Body Kicks: Carries a stellar front kick to the solar plexus. It is ridiculously accurate, along with being sudden and powerful. Certainly a weapon with which he can hurt opponents.
• Head Kicks: Powerful and thrown with plenty of flexibility and accuracy. The strike could stand to be faster.
• Knees: Beautiful, fantastic switch knee. Only needs to hop slightly off the ground to connect with it.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: No.

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Much of Pereira’s game is centered on the left hook. It has everything you could ever want in a punch: blinding speed, technique, accuracy and single-shot knockout power. He has caught opponents coming forward with it again and again in MMA, having knockout Strickland and Thomas Powell, among others. He possesses one of the best switch knees, too, as he does not need to lean on a full jump thanks to his height and length, making it far more consistent and accurate. Pereira’s front kick to the midsection is utterly devastating. The rest of his offensive game is good but perhaps not as great as one might expect. His jab is solid, but it is not well-hidden and tends to be inaccurate. His leg kicks are also surprisingly light. However, Pereira’s footwork is sublime and his defense is excellent, with an outstanding sense of range, blocking and hand fighting tools at his disposal. He is difficult to hit, enhancing the dangers he poses himself while standing.

CLINCH

• Physical Strength: Fair.
• Technique: Has a solid grasp of the fundamentals, but he can be slow to react.
• Knees: Fast, hard, and accurate when thrown, but he is usually too focused on avoiding the takedown to do so.
• Elbows: Features a brutal side elbow when someone grinds for a takedown around his hips. Just one can be enough to make an opponent change his mind.
• Defense Against Knees/Elbows: Vulnerable to both due to his concerns with being taken down.

Pereira is vulnerable in close quarters. He has at least average physical strength for the UFC middleweight division and does well with the fundamentals, though he is often a little slow in applying them, especially if an opponent chain wrestles. The fact that he is so concerned with avoiding takedowns also means he neglects his own offense and can be hit by strikes in the clinch. However, if opponents shoot takedowns around his hips, Pereira can nail them with a fantastic side elbow to the head that will make them quickly rethink their approach.

GRAPPLING

• Wrestling from a Shot: Non-existent.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: Non-existent.
• Takedown Defense: Serviceable. He avoided all attempts from a journeyman like Powell but got hit with a double-leg in the clinch by Michailidis.
• Ability to Return to Feet: Only did so against Michailidis, who offers awful top control, but showed solid fundamentals when called upon. He pushed down on the head, butt scooted to the cage and wall walked back to an upright position.
• Submissions: Non-existent.
• Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: Difficult to handicap, but he does give up dominant positions when an opponent chain wrestles.
• Top Control: So uncomfortable on the ground that he decided to stand up rather than stay there against Powell.
• Ground-and-Pound: Still a question mark since he tries to avoid exchanges on the mat entirely.

Pereira’s grappling is largely a mystery and likely a work in progress. What we know is that he wants to avoid the ground and has shown no real offensive tools there. However, he has already developed some solid defense, doing well with the basics, whether on takedowns or the ability to get back to his feet. Given how easily he surrenders dominant positions to chain wrestlers, it stands to reason that a strong grappler could submit him easily.

INTANGIBLES

Athleticism/General Physical Strength: Superb athletically, but he could stand to get stronger in terms of his MMA game.
Cardio: Held up for what was essentially a three-round kickboxing battle with Silva. Difficult to say what it might look like under more stress from grappling, but he looked fresh at the start of the second round against Michailidis.
Chin: Stout. Absorbed hard shots from Silva without issue and appeared quite durable over the course of his kickboxing career.
Recuperative Powers: Likely good enough for him to keep his head above water.
Intelligence: He is disciplined with his distance control, hand fighting and strikes. Pereira also shows decent self-control when defending in the grappling phase and getting back to the standup. He has not yet made a bad decision—a common trait for world-class kickboxers transitioning to MMA at such an advanced age.