Outside Source
Alex Pereira received a special tribute on Brazilian TV this past Sunday. | Getty/UFC
Scheduled to face Ciryl Gane in the co-main event of the UFC White House card on June 14, Alex Pereira received a tribute this past Sunday on one of Brazil’s highest-rated programs.
During an appearance on “Domingao com Huck” on TV Globo, “Poatan” was welcomed by host Luciano Huck, who, through testimonials from family members and videos of the most important fights of his career, recalled the entire history of the Brazilian idol. This included his impoverished childhood, the loss of his murdered brother, his battle with alcoholism and working at the tire shop. There were dozens of emotional testimonials from his children, brother, mother, friends from the tire shop, manager Jorge Guimarães and children from his social project.
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But without a doubt, what moved “Poatan” the most were the words of his father, Antonio, who spoke about the pride he feels for his son.
“Alex, I don’t even have words to talk about you,” the father said. “You know we’re very shy, that sometimes we search for words of praise and they don’t come. But the heart speaks louder than the mouth. Thank God I fulfilled my dream seeing you. It’s very difficult for someone to have a son like you, and today I have you, my son…”
A Champion of Life
At the end of the video, Pereira wiped away tears, thanked the program for the tribute and recalled everything he had experienced to reach the top of the sport.
“I am very happy to be remembering everything that happened in my life,” he said. “… We went through difficulties, but thank God I managed to overcome them… If today I wasn’t a Glory champion or a UFC champion, but a champion of life, that would already be very important. Many people end up facing problems with drugs, alcohol or depression —and sport has been saving lives. Me becoming a champion of life, for me, would already be good.”
The nearly 12-minute tribute on one of TV Globo’s highest-rated programs impressed sports fans. Since 2023, when Canal Combate (a Globo network pay channel) lost the rights to broadcast UFC, the promotion has ceased to be reported on Globo news programs, and its fighters have never again been invited to be part of the programming of Globo’s main entertainment programs and its other channels.
The nearly 12-minute tribute to “Poatan” on one of the network’s highest-rated programs, just months after UFC arrived on Paramount, a direct competitor of Globoplay (Globo´s streaming), could signify either a possible political shift at the network or simply an understanding that in today’s world, where social media has a greater impact than open television, it’s better to acknowledge the greatness of stars who break through the sports bubble.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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