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\nBelocqua Wera helped mold Alex Pereira into the fighter he is
\ntoday. | Belocqua Wera<\/b><\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
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If he manages to beat Ciryl Gane<\/a> Before arriving in the Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ultimately, it was this renowned professional, the former coach of \u201cWhen Alex arrived at my gym, I put him to do a sparring session Since he started training with Wera, even while working hard at the “He followed everything I instructed and learned quickly. I Pereira also began to take an interest in his heritage.<\/p>\n \u201cHe became curious and asked his mother if there were any Based on the discoveries of his origins and taking into account the \u201cI took him to sign a contract with his first sponsor, and the guy \u201cThe Xavante Indians participate in this song,\u201d he said. \u201cAll those Wera recalls that reclaiming this ancestry was essential in “Given his condition as an alcoholic with no prospects, it was In six years with Wera, Poatan became the Sao Paulo state champion, According to the coach, his partnership with \u201cPoatan\u201d ended after \u201cThe situation he was in at my gym was very difficult. According to Wera is fully convinced that his pupil will win his third belt in “I think he should use the ‘Guato’ to maintain distance but without Asked if Pereira should be considered the GOAT of combat sports if \u201cAll kickboxing champions who went to MMA got beaten. Alex was the Wera would even bet on his pupil had he been booked against \u201cI think if this June fight was with Jon Jones<\/a>,
\non June 14 at
\nUFC White House<\/a>, Alex
\nPereira<\/a> will be the only fighter in history to win three belts
\nin different divisions in the world’s largest MMA promotion.<\/p>\n
\nUFC<\/a>, Poatan had already been a double champion (middleweight
\nand light heavyweight) in Glory Kickboxing. Most fans today
\nassociate Pereira with his current coaches, Glover
\nTeixeira<\/a> and Plinio Cruz<\/a>,
\nwho was even elected coach of the year at the MMA Oscars in 2024.
\nDespite always pointing out the importance of both in his career,
\n\u201cPoatan\u201d never fails to recognize the importance of his first
\ncoach, Belocqua Wera.<\/p>\n
\nthe Brazilian Kickboxing team, who had already trained the famous
\nSouth American kickboxing champion Paulo Zorello, who extended a
\nhand to him, recognized his talent, and baptized Pereira with the
\nname by which the world now recognizes him: \u201cPoatan\u201d. In an
\nexclusive interview with Sherdog.com, Wera recalled the day he
\nreceived the boy, then 21 years old.<\/p>\n
\nwith a former Brazilian kickboxing champion named Eduardo Sobreira.
\nThat was more of a test to see his attitude, not to test him
\ntechnically. Obviously, he was at a disadvantage, but I liked his
\nattitude,\u201d recalled Wera. \u201cI asked him how far he wanted to go. To
\nbe a state champion, a Brazilian champion, and he said he wanted to
\nreach the top.\u201d<\/p>\nHow \u2018Poatan\u2019 Got His Name<\/h2>\n
\ntire shop, Pereira never missed a training session and quickly
\nbegan to improve. In one particular episode, he earned the coach’s
\ntrust.<\/p>\n
\nremember that in the second training session with Eduardo Sobrero,
\nhe was still at a disadvantage, but in the third, I said, ‘Today
\nyou can knock him out, but you won’t. You’ll respect him, dominate
\nhim, and show that you’ve learned. That’s all.’ And that’s what he
\ndid. And that impressed me. He could have wanted to retaliate, but
\nhe insisted on respecting me and the veteran who sparred him. And
\nthat’s the attitude of a champion. There I saw that he was within
\nmy philosophy, and I realized that there was something noble in him
\nthat comes from our ancestral warriors, who are the basis of my
\nwork,” recalled Wera.<\/p>\n
\nindigenous people in the family, and his mother confirmed that his
\ngrandparents were indigenous. When he told me, we started working
\non that. After all, unfortunately, we’ve had great champions in
\nmany sports with indigenous features and origins, and none of them
\never celebrated their origins. Perhaps due to the influence of
\ncinema, you see \u2018Vikings,\u2019 [and] \u2018Samurai,\u2019 but we have great
\nwarriors of our roots. I always felt that this was something we
\nlacked,\u201d added Wera, who began using Tupinamb\u00e1 indigenous war
\nrituals to cultivate a warrior spirit in Alex’s training.<\/p>\n
\npower of his cross, it was Wera who suggested the name Po (hand)
\nAtan (Strong).<\/p>\n
\nasked for a nickname, and I said \u2018Poatan,\u2019 which doesn’t mean ‘hands of stone.’ If it meant ‘hands of stone,’ it would be Po
\n(hand) Ita (stone),\u201d said Wera, revealing that he was also the one
\nwho suggested the song ITSARI by the group Sepultura, which Alex
\nstill uses in his fights today.<\/p>\n
\nshouts and tones while he stomps his foot on the ground have a
\nmeaning. First, the tone of earth, the act of standing firm and the
\npath to follow; then comes the tone of water, when you release your
\nsorrows; and then the tone of fire and air.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nPereira\u2019s transformation.<\/p>\n
\npointless for me to just teach him jabs and straight punches. By
\nreclaiming his ancestral roots, I managed to give him a strong
\nmind, a warrior spirit, and a healthy, strong body,\u201d Wera said.<\/p>\n
\nthe Brazilian kickboxing champion, and the WGP champion, and began
\nto be approached to fight in Glory. “They wanted him to spend some
\ntime training Dutch kickboxing, and I didn’t allow it,\u201d he said. \u201cI
\nbelieved they would take him there and remove the characteristics
\nof Brazilian kickboxing. Instead, I took him to my brother’s farm,
\nand we spent a month there, training.”<\/p>\n
\nhis first victories in Glory because of an offer from a
\nsponsor.<\/p>\n
\nhim, the other gym offered him better conditions. After everything
\nI saw him go through and knowing the potential he had, I needed to
\nunderstand his decision,\u201d Wera acknowledged, revealing that the
\nseparation never erased the respect they have for each other. \u201cWhen
\nhe beat Adesanya in the UFC, he visited our gym.\u201d<\/p>\nGane, Jones and Chimaev<\/h2>\n
\nthe UFC at the White House and even anticipates in which round the
\ntitle will come.<\/p>\n
\nletting Gane try to suffocate him and at the right moment corner
\nhim using the ‘Jawa’. I believe that if Alex is strategic he will
\nwin by knockout around the third or fourth round. This fight won’t
\ngo to the fifth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\nhe wins his third belt, the master does not hesitate.<\/p>\n
\nonly one who won the belt in two categories of the biggest
\nkickboxing promotion in the world and then did the same in the
\nbiggest MMA promotion. If he wins this third belt in UFC, something
\nnever done before, I think he must be considered the GOAT of combat
\nsports,\u201d Wera said.<\/p>\n
\nJon
\nJones<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nAlex might have more trouble, but he would also end up knocked
\nout,\u201d Wera said.<\/p>\n