UFC middleweight Alex Pereira's coach has revealed how the Brazilian struggled to train due to being "rotten inside" as a result of his battle with alcohol.
The former middleweight champion has had one of the most remarkable stories in MMA, and capped it off last November when within just a handful of fights in the cage he won UFC gold. But he hasn't always been the wrecking machine he is today, with his trainer Belocqua Wera detailing how a drinking problem ravaged his early days as a kickboxer.
Pereira moved into MMA in 2015 amid a successful career in the ring, and actually defeated current champion Adesanya twice before their first UFC meeting. But he had struggled early to kick an addiction to alcohol which Wera claimed left him "rotten" and unable to progress to the top of the sport.
“I was training with him in the ring one day, trying to teach him some difficult moves,” Wera told MMAFighting. “I was pushing him hard, so I punched him right in the stomach, and he went down. I thought to myself, ‘F***, he’s weak. Am I wasting my time with him?’
"He was back up seconds later, and I saw tears in his eyes. I realised he wasn’t weak, he was a warrior. He was rotten inside due to the things he used, he was contaminated. It wasn’t easy to turn him into what he’s become... He’s representing me. When he’s champion, I’m happy.”
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Pereira will now have to work towards winning gold again, this time up at light-heavyweight after officially ditching the gruelling weight cut to 185lb following his loss to Adesanya last month. He has opted to test himself at the heavier weight after coming down from sparring with the likes of Zhilei Zhang in order to compete in his rival's division.
He will first face a legitimate contender at 205lb before attempting to challenge Jamahal Hill, who defeated his teammate Glover Texeira in Pereira's home country of Brazil back in January. UFC president Dana White has insisted that he needs a big victory before being thrust into a title bout after being rushed through at middleweight.
"You put him in title contention in that he has to beat somebody to even be considered in title contention," White told Mirror Fighting and other reporters. "He's got to move up to 205lb and beat a real guy so that's what we're looking at right now, getting him a real guy to fight."
