Alex Poatan (center), Plínio Cruz (left) and businessman Kronig Lee (right) celebrating Alex Poatan 's birthday . Photo: Reproduction Instagram/alexpoatanpereira
Alex Poatan turns 38 this Monday (7) and the celebration was this Saturday (5), in São Paulo. The former UFC middleweight (up to 83,9kg) and light heavyweight (up to 93kg) champion posted some pictures of the party on his official Instagram account. The celebration had the MMA star's famous dance and even a samba school dancer made an appearance.
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Among the personalities featured in the stories posted by Poatan are the athlete's loyal scout, Plínio Cruz, the fighter Caio Borralho , the influencer Nina Drama, and Alex's musical idol, Cachorrão do Brega.
In beautiful São Paulo, Brazil Celebrating Poatan! Cheers to Alex Pereira pic.twitter.com/SKSwGd8EFR
— Nina-Marie Daniele (@ninamdrama) July 6, 2025
Alex Poatan: story of a legend
The darling of Brazilians has fans all over the world. Alex Pereira has become a phenomenon in a short space of time. From a poor background in São Bernardo do Campo, the fighter was a tire repairman and overcame alcoholism before turning professional at the age of 26. But the man known as 'Poatan' in the fight – a reference to his origins, meaning 'Hands of Stone' – never needed much time to do what needed to be done.
The Brazilian was already a recognized champion in Glory when he left the organization to go to the UFC, in 2022. He was the first fighter to be champion of the kickboxing organization and the largest MMA organization in the world.
In just three years, Alex Poatan won titles in two UFC weight classes, middleweight and light heavyweight, breaking the record for the longest time between titles in one division and the other, in addition to being one of only seven fighters to defend the belt three times in the same year. In the UFC, in such a short time, he won seven fights by knockout and, in a year when the company struggled to headline fight cards, he secured three last-minute main event fights. He quickly became an idol and is on his way to becoming a legend.
Alex Poatan's next fight
Alex Poatan 's rematch with Magomed Ankalaev is about to become a reality, according to the Brazilian. The light heavyweight title (up to 93kg) went to the Russian after defeating Poatan in the main event of UFC 313 in March at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (USA). In an interview given two weeks ago, in addition to setting a date for the fight, the former champion downplayed the hype surrounding the current titleholder.
“We are in negotiations with the UFC. We are preparing. We'll see. Maybe around October,” Alex Poatan stated in an interview with 'The Schmo'.
It is likely that the UFC will hold two pay-per-view events when the title fights take place in October. UFC 320, scheduled to take place in Las Vegas on the 4th, and a numbered card in Abu Dhabi, a less hostile territory for the current champion.
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