UFC Star Alex Pereira Throws First Pitch at Yankees Game Ahead of White House Fight

Former two-division UFC titleholder Alex Pereira got the chance to show off his arm at last night’s New York Yankees game.

A former middleweight champion that also defended the UFC light heavyweight belt on three occasions before being unseated by Magomed Ankalaev, Pereira reclaimed his title by knocking out Ankalaev in just over a minute in his last outing at UFC 320.

“Poatan” elected to vacate the light heavyweight title ahead of a meeting with Ciryl Gane at “UFC Freedom 250”, where Pereira will try to become the first fighter to hold UFC belts in three different weight classes when he and Gane throw down for the interim heavyweight strap.

Alex Pereira Takes the Mound at Yankee Stadium

With just over a month to go until the event at The White House, Pereira got some extra spotlight last night when he made the trip to Yankee Stadium and threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Yankees played the Texas Rangers.

The 37-year-old had the chance to get a few warmup throws in before stepping on the mound, and the UFC star managed to toss a solid pitch across the plate and earn some approving cheers from the Bronx crowd.

The Yankees went on to defeat the Rangers by a score of 7-4, with home runs coming from Jazz Chisholm Jr., Ryan McMahon, and Paul Goldschmidt.

"Poatan" Looks to Make UFC History at The White House

Although he’s only been with the UFC since 2021 and only has a total of 15 MMA fights to his name, Pereira is already one of the biggest stars the promotion has ever seen and could see his legend grow on June 14.

A former two-division champion with GLORY kickboxing, Pereira made the jump to the UFC with a 3-1 MMA record and won his first three Octagon bouts to secure a middleweight title shot against his former kickboxing rival Israel Adesanya.

Alex Pereira (red gloves) fights Israel Adesanya (blue gloves) during UFC 287 at Miami-Dade Arena. | Rich Storry-Imagn Images

“Poatan” won the middleweight strap in their initial MMA meeting before being knocked out in their immediate rematch in 2023, and the Brazilian elected to make the move to the light heavyweight division the following year.

Magomed Ankalaev (red gloves) fights Alex Pereira (blue gloves) during UFC 320 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Pereira won the division’s vacant belt in his second light heavyweight fight and successful defended it three times (all via stoppage) before his two fights with Ankalaev. There was considerable talk of him potentially fighting Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall if he were to move to heavyweight, but with Jones retired and Aspinall currently sidelined the stage is now set for an interim title bout with Gane that features as the co-main event for “UFC Freedom 250”.

Add us as a preferred source on Google