Belocqua Wera helped mold Alex Pereira into the fighter he is
today. | Belocqua Wera
If he manages to beat Ciryl Gane
on June 14 at
UFC White House, Alex
Pereira will be the only fighter in history to win three belts
in different divisions in the world’s largest MMA promotion.
Before arriving in the
UFC, Poatan had already been a double champion (middleweight
and light heavyweight) in Glory Kickboxing. Most fans today
associate Pereira with his current coaches, Glover
Teixeira and Plinio Cruz,
who was even elected coach of the year at the MMA Oscars in 2024.
Despite always pointing out the importance of both in his career,
“Poatan” never fails to recognize the importance of his first
coach, Belocqua Wera.
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Ultimately, it was this renowned professional, the former coach of
the Brazilian Kickboxing team, who had already trained the famous
South American kickboxing champion Paulo Zorello, who extended a
hand to him, recognized his talent, and baptized Pereira with the
name by which the world now recognizes him: “Poatan”. In an
exclusive interview with Sherdog.com, Wera recalled the day he
received the boy, then 21 years old.
“When Alex arrived at my gym, I put him to do a sparring session
with a former Brazilian kickboxing champion named Eduardo Sobreira.
That was more of a test to see his attitude, not to test him
technically. Obviously, he was at a disadvantage, but I liked his
attitude,” recalled Wera. “I asked him how far he wanted to go. To
be a state champion, a Brazilian champion, and he said he wanted to
reach the top.”
How ‘Poatan’ Got His Name
Since he started training with Wera, even while working hard at the
tire shop, Pereira never missed a training session and quickly
began to improve. In one particular episode, he earned the coach’s
trust.
“He followed everything I instructed and learned quickly. I
remember that in the second training session with Eduardo Sobrero,
he was still at a disadvantage, but in the third, I said, ‘Today
you can knock him out, but you won’t. You’ll respect him, dominate
him, and show that you’ve learned. That’s all.’ And that’s what he
did. And that impressed me. He could have wanted to retaliate, but
he insisted on respecting me and the veteran who sparred him. And
that’s the attitude of a champion. There I saw that he was within
my philosophy, and I realized that there was something noble in him
that comes from our ancestral warriors, who are the basis of my
work,” recalled Wera.
Pereira also began to take an interest in his heritage.
“He became curious and asked his mother if there were any
indigenous people in the family, and his mother confirmed that his
grandparents were indigenous. When he told me, we started working
on that. After all, unfortunately, we’ve had great champions in
many sports with indigenous features and origins, and none of them
ever celebrated their origins. Perhaps due to the influence of
cinema, you see ‘Vikings,’ [and] ‘Samurai,’ but we have great
warriors of our roots. I always felt that this was something we
lacked,” added Wera, who began using Tupinambá indigenous war
rituals to cultivate a warrior spirit in Alex’s training.
Based on the discoveries of his origins and taking into account the
power of his cross, it was Wera who suggested the name Po (hand)
Atan (Strong).
“I took him to sign a contract with his first sponsor, and the guy
asked for a nickname, and I said ‘Poatan,’ which doesn’t mean ‘hands of stone.’ If it meant ‘hands of stone,’ it would be Po
(hand) Ita (stone),” said Wera, revealing that he was also the one
who suggested the song ITSARI by the group Sepultura, which Alex
still uses in his fights today.
“The Xavante Indians participate in this song,” he said. “All those
shouts and tones while he stomps his foot on the ground have a
meaning. First, the tone of earth, the act of standing firm and the
path to follow; then comes the tone of water, when you release your
sorrows; and then the tone of fire and air.”
Wera recalls that reclaiming this ancestry was essential in
Pereira’s transformation.
“Given his condition as an alcoholic with no prospects, it was
pointless for me to just teach him jabs and straight punches. By
reclaiming his ancestral roots, I managed to give him a strong
mind, a warrior spirit, and a healthy, strong body,” Wera said.
In six years with Wera, Poatan became the Sao Paulo state champion,
the Brazilian kickboxing champion, and the WGP champion, and began
to be approached to fight in Glory. “They wanted him to spend some
time training Dutch kickboxing, and I didn’t allow it,” he said. “I
believed they would take him there and remove the characteristics
of Brazilian kickboxing. Instead, I took him to my brother’s farm,
and we spent a month there, training.”
According to the coach, his partnership with “Poatan” ended after
his first victories in Glory because of an offer from a
sponsor.
“The situation he was in at my gym was very difficult. According to
him, the other gym offered him better conditions. After everything
I saw him go through and knowing the potential he had, I needed to
understand his decision,” Wera acknowledged, revealing that the
separation never erased the respect they have for each other. “When
he beat Adesanya in the UFC, he visited our gym.”
Gane, Jones and Chimaev
Wera is fully convinced that his pupil will win his third belt in
the UFC at the White House and even anticipates in which round the
title will come.
“I think he should use the ‘Guato’ to maintain distance but without
letting Gane try to suffocate him and at the right moment corner
him using the ‘Jawa’. I believe that if Alex is strategic he will
win by knockout around the third or fourth round. This fight won’t
go to the fifth,” he said.
Asked if Pereira should be considered the GOAT of combat sports if
he wins his third belt, the master does not hesitate.
“All kickboxing champions who went to MMA got beaten. Alex was the
only one who won the belt in two categories of the biggest
kickboxing promotion in the world and then did the same in the
biggest MMA promotion. If he wins this third belt in UFC, something
never done before, I think he must be considered the GOAT of combat
sports,” Wera said.
Wera would even bet on his pupil had he been booked against
Jon
Jones.
“I think if this June fight was with Jon Jones,
Alex might have more trouble, but he would also end up knocked
out,” Wera said.
The only fighter against whom Wera doesn’t show so much confidence
is Khamzat
Chimaev. The UFC middleweight champion already showed many
times his desire to fight “Poatan” for light heavyweight title.
“That guy is tough. I see that he has a different attitude, they
even call him ‘Wolf.’ He has a different look and usually finds the
opponents’ weaknesses. Against this ‘Wolf’ guy, Alex would have to
prepare well,” Wera said.