How To Fight Like Alex Pereira: Breaking Down The Style of “Poatan”

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Alex “Poatan” Pereira is one of the most dynamic and exciting fighters in the current era of mixed martial arts. Poatans’ meteoric rise can be attributed to his devastating knockout power and fan-friendly style. However, he is far from just a brawler; Poatan has one of the highest fight IQ’s across any combat sport! Today, Evolve Daily is pleased to share a guide on how to fight like Alex “Poatan” Pereira.

Stance

Poatan fights out of a standard orthodox kickboxing stance. His feet are positioned slightly wider than shoulder width, with his body turned inwards at a forty-five-degree angle. He is very light on his feet and uses bouncy footwork similar to the soviet school of boxing. Poatan tends to hold his hands very low but will raise them to block and parry incoming strikes.

Footwork

Pereira’s aggressive counterpunching style is built on his mastery of footwork. Poatan uses his footwork to generate power and to keep himself safe while setting up devastating counters.

One footwork technique he uses is stepping his rear foot forward before throwing a jab. Although this is “technically” incorrect, Poatan uses it to great effect.

Stepping your rear foot forward before throwing a jab lets you creep closer to your opponent while disguising your next strike.

Once you step your rear foot forward, your next step can close the distance much more effectively than standard footwork would allow. As you step inside of your opponent’s range, throw a hard jab at their chin, rotating your hips towards your rear foot.

Your rear side is now loaded for a power punch; rotate your hips towards your lead foot while throwing a rear hook at the center of your opponent’s body.

By now, your opponent will likely have put up their high guard, closing off their centerline. This will create an opening for the lead hook!

After throwing your rear hook at your opponent’s body, your weight will be over your front foot. Take advantage of this position by exploding upwards, while delivering a thundering lead hook. This is technically a gazelle punch; the upward momentum and weight shift add to the power of the lead hook immensely.

This sequence is an example of how Poatan uses footwork very intentionally, even to throw a basic one, two, three combination. Paying attention to the details of your own footwork can pay dividends in your overall fighting ability!

Defense

Poatan’s preferred defense consists of head movement supplemented with parries and long guard tactics. This is a very risky style and requires a high level of skill to use successfully.

The reason Pereira forgoes a traditional high guard is part of his layered strategy. His low hand position aids his mobility and frees his range of vision. This is especially important for a counter puncher, as their eyes are their most valuable tool in the ring.

Poatan’s constant head movement also doubles as feints, making it difficult to tell when he will actually strike. To trick his opponents into engaging, Poatan keeps his hands low to instill a false sense of confidence. Watch him spar with Pro Heavyweight Boxer Dempsey Mckean in the video above, using his signature head movement.

When his opponent enters the pocket to engage, Pereira is quick to slip and counter. Keeping his hands low lets Poatan punch from odd angles, further amplifying the danger for his opponent.

Poatan’s use of the long guard compliments his head movement and counter-punching. Pereira will extend one, or both, of his arms, making contact with his opponent’s arms. He can use this to sense when, and how, his opponent will strike next. The video above is a beginner’s guide to using the long box to improve your boxing game!

Snap Kicks

Another aspect of Poatan’s style is the unique way in which he kicks. Unlike the majority of MMA fighters, who use Muay Thai as their striking base, Pereira’s kicks are closer to those found in traditional martial arts such as Taekwondo and Karate.

Pereira’s unique “no rotation” low kick uses very little hip rotation for its power; instead, the power comes from the uncoiling, or snap, of the kick.

Poatan has so much power in his snap, that he barely needs to chamber his leg when delivering a crippling calf kick!

A perfect example of Poatan’s snap kick is his spectacular knockout of Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303. Pereira noticed Prochazka standing in front of him stationary and took full advantage of that opening. Watch the devastating knockout in the video above.

Take note of Pereira’s shallow switch step, as well as the chambering of his lead leg for the knockout kick. When the kick lands on Prochazka, Poatan’s lead leg is in a straight line from his hip to his toes. Pereira even lands the kick with his instep, commonly found in Karate and Taekwondo.

Powerful Punches

Poatan’s devastating punches are the core of his violent style. He throws most of his punches with a downward trajectory, ending at the opposite hip. This is against conventional boxing wisdom, as it leaves your head open. However, Poatan uses this as another way to bait and draw his opponents in. Watch Pereira’s punch trajectory in his pad work session above.

Lead Hook

No Poatan guide would be complete without touching on his most potent weapon, the lead left hook. Poatan’s mastery of this strike is multi-layered, here are the basic principles he uses.

Balance and posture are the key components of Poatan’s devastating left hook. Pereira almost always shifts his weight onto his lead foot before throwing his lead hook. As this is an obvious motion, he uses a myriad of setups to disguise it.

One common setup is throwing or feinting his rear overhand. This allows him to rotate his hips and shoulders so that his weight is centered on his lead foot. He then explosively rips his weight backward, rotating towards his rear foot now.

Poatan waits until the very last moment to raise his elbow for the lead hook, making it difficult to see. On top of this, he angles his left hook upwards, akin to a shovel hook. This splits his opponent’s guard from an unexpected angle. Lastly, Pereira lifts his lead shoulder as he throws his lead hook. This gives him a built-in shoulder roll protection against counterpunches.

Conclusion

Alex “Poatan” Pereira has one of the most dynamic, but also fundamentally sound styles in MMA today. Incorporate the above elements into your style and let us know which ones work best for you!