Alex Pereira received somewhat one thing further for saving the day at UFC 303.
That’s in line with Pereira’s longtime coach Plinio Cruz, who revealed Monday on The MMA Hour that UFC CEO Dana White gave Pereira a $303,000 post-fight bonus following his profitable mild heavyweight title protection at UFC 303. Pereira knocked out Jiri Prochazka with a brutal second-round head kick after accepting the bout on simply two weeks’ discover following the withdrawal of unique headliner Conor McGregor because of damage.
“He was speaking to Dana within the again, they usually had been speaking a few bunch of stuff, and Dana mentioned, ‘As a matter of reality, you received Efficiency of the Night time.’ And he mentioned, ‘$303,000?’ He goes, ‘No, no, no, $50,000,’” Cruz defined Monday on The MMA Hour.
”However actuality of the actual fact is, he didn’t — they gave $300,000 bonuses for [UFC] 300 and [Pereira] didn’t get Efficiency of the Night time. They gave two to Max [Holloway], so he was somewhat bit salty about that. And I believe due to all their historical past after which taking the struggle on two weeks’ [notice], Dana checked out him and mentioned, ‘You already know what, man? I’m going to care for you. You’ve received the $303,000.’ He even joked, he mentioned purchase a supercar with that cash. [Pereira] goes, ‘I’ve received sufficient supercars.’ He desires a Cybertruck.”
Pereira, 36, has now saved the day for UFC twice in a span of three months, having additionally defeated Jamahal Hill within the short-notice primary occasion of UFC 300 on April 13 to salvage the promotion’s well-documented efforts to discover a appropriate headliner for the tricentennial card.
But when the saga of UFC 300 was already a roller-coaster, UFC 303 could as nicely have been the Components Rossa.
Cruz mentioned Pereira was nonetheless within the negotiation phases for a rematch in opposition to Prochazka on Aug. 17 at UFC 305 when promotion officers first broached the staff about the potential of filling in for McGregor. Cruz admitted he was initially in opposition to the concept and informed as a lot to Pereira, nevertheless “Poatan” was prepared to just accept straight away. By the next morning, all particulars had been ironed out and the impromptu title rematch had been made official.
Pereira beforehand defeated Prochazka by way of second-round TKO in November 2023 to seize the vacant mild heavyweight belt, and Cruz mentioned he anticipated an extended struggle the second time round. Which may’ve occurred, too, if it wasn’t for some last-second movie research.
“Alex is a a lot better standup fighter than Prochazka is, so we wished to be affected person,” Cruz mentioned. “I informed him, ‘Bro, let’s simply take the primary two rounds simple, let’s tempo ourselves.’ As a result of Jiri, the longer the struggle goes, he tends to let somewhat little bit of his stage of self-discipline decrease and he begins to throw stuff, he begins to get somewhat extra dangerous, he takes probabilities.
“And our sport [plan] till the struggle night time was mainly going over there, really feel [out] the primary two rounds, and push the tempo because the struggle goes, particularly if Prochazka was going to possibly attempt to do a grappling match. We knew that none of them will be capable to grind for 5 rounds, as a result of it was week two of the camp, so the longer the struggle goes, that’ll profit Alex. After which it occurred, that factor within the locker room.”
That factor within the locker room, as Cruz framed it, has already been etched into Pereira lore.
Each Pereira and Cruz revealed post-fight that they seen the opening for the fight-ending head kick by scrolling Instagram within the locker room earlier than the bout. UFC’s social media staff posted clips of each fighters warming up, and Pereira’s instantly staff noticed the outlet in Prochazka’s sport plan. Cruz mentioned the adjustment was made lower than 20 minutes earlier than Pereira’s walkout. Ultimately, the champ’s pre-fight audible labored to perfection.
That locker room footage of Prochazka additionally stood in stark distinction to the vibe Pereira’s staff offered of their clip, which confirmed Pereira and his staff casually line dancing.
Cruz suspects Pereira’s nonchalant but remarkably centered demeanor all through struggle week could have performed tips on Prochazka’s head, particularly after Prochazka made some extent to accuse Pereira of practising “black magic” earlier than their first bout at UFC 295.
“The dance was a magical ritual. That was doing witchcraft proper earlier than earlier than the struggle,” Cruz mentioned, laughing. “Man, I believe he received somewhat bit in his head. You already know what I imply? Alex has his indigenous background from his dad and mom. He likes to honor it and I respect him rather a lot that he honors the the tradition of his folks, and I assist him to try this, I’m a giant supporter.
“I believe that Jiri one way or the other may’ve received in his personal head if he’s calling indigenous stuff as witchcraft and no matter. However that simply performed extra on our facet. That simply helped him.”
Pereira is now 8-1 below the UFC umbrella, with six of these wins coming in opposition to both present or former champions. He stays the ninth UFC fighter to ever to win belts in two divisions, and chatter continues to persist about him sooner or later transferring as much as heavyweight in an effort to make historical past as the primary three-division champion in promotional historical past.
It’s been a whirlwind experience, and Cruz has ridden sidecar for all of it. The veteran coach has long gone the purpose of doubting Pereira’s capability to drag off something he units his thoughts to.
“[Pereira] has truly a really particular imaginative and prescient [when it comes to] timing, distance, and the angles in the way in which that he [approaches his craft],” Cruz mentioned. “It’s virtually like he has his personal type of combating. He simply combines his boxing and the kickboxing, and the way in which that he simply implements [everything] is simply mild years forward, the imaginative and prescient that he has [for] the sport.”