Glover Teixeira: Alex Pereira 'More Powerful Than Any Heavyweight I Trained With'

If any further proof of Alex Pereira’s power needed, it has arrived in the form of confirmation from Glover Teixeira.

The pace at which Pereira rose to Ultimate Fighting Championship stardom is arguably unprecedented. Pereira had just four MMA fights to his name when he made his UFC debut in 2021. The Brazilian went on to defeat former Glory Kickboxing foe Israel Adesanya to win the middleweight title within a year of his UFC debut.

While “Poatan” lost the title in their immediate rematch, he has since established a light heavyweight title reign. Teixeira, who is Pereira’s coach and mentor, lost the light heavyweight title via submission against Jiri Prochazka and retired after a subsequent failed bid for the vacant belt against Jamahal Hill. Pereira went on to avenge both losses, winning the vacant title against Prochazka before defending it against Hill. He also defeated Prochazka in a rematch at UFC 303. All three of those aforementioned victories came via stoppage.

UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

Next, Pereira will defend his light heavyweight strap against Khalil Rountree in the main event at UFC 307 on Saturday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The champ has also expressed interest in moving back down to middleweight to challenge Dricus Du Plessis for the 185-pound title in the future. Teixeira was recently asked if a potential move up to heavyweight is also in the cards for his friend and pupil. The former champ believes Pereira is capable of anything that he puts his mind to, including moving up to heavyweight. While Teixeira acknowledges that a lot of people have knockout power at heavyweight, he believes Pereira is on another level.

“To be honest, I’m confident that he can do anything he wants,” Teixeira recently told The Schmo. “He can fight at heavyweight and destroy the heavyweights there. Because the strength, the ability to read the opponents, and [go] in and out, and the power, he’s more powerful than any heavyweight I trained with. Of course, any heavyweight, Tom Aspinall, Stipe [Miocic] have KO power as well. But Alex is way up there.”