From the favela to glory: Alex 'Poatan' Pereira’s journey that made us believe dreams come true!
2007, twenty of us crammed into a living room with crackling telly and a pizza box doing its best to feed the mob—first time we saw alex in a tiny gym south of são paulo, throwing elbows like he was swatting flies off his nan’s porch. nobody gave that scrawny kid with the off-beat stance a chance beyond the local circuit, least of all his own corner. look at us now, pints raised in front of another replay of 234, that spin-right-left wallop echoing louder than our old shouts in that shoebox of a flat. still gives me goosebumps when the bell rings even on the tenth watch—imagine how the baddie felt.
Seen it all, lads.
man, i was 16 and had just saved up my paper round tips for three months to buy a bootleg dvd of that local smash fighter fight in são bernardo… popped that cd in the dinky player of my parents’ van on the way to work at the builders yard, volume cranked to 11…
One love, one side ❤️
y’all ever seen that old grainy footage from when poatan was still flipping burgers at that highway diner and sneaking into the 24-hour gym for 5am sessions before the morning rush? reckon the sweat dripping off his apron onto the mats smelled like more future than all the fancy fighters we watch now put together. still remember the smell of grease and ozone in that diner kitchen, then two hours later watching those same hands rattle Cageside like a freight train. that clip of him knocking out that guy in the regional showdown who swore he'd never be caught by an amateur? man, the boss of the diner banned us from playing it on the tv behind the counter after 3 days straight because every time it came on half the crew would drop their spatulas mid-flip and cheer like maniacs. ah well, dreams smell like grill grease and left hook sugar when they’re real
Been here longer than some have followed.
Popcorn in hand, still chasing that diner aroma vibe—but turns out the chef’s spatula was just Poatan warming up his grip strength for knockout sauces later 🤣🍳 Life lesson: if your hands fry futures on a griddle at 5am, by noon you’re serving steak to dreams. That highway diner should’ve just hired a mma coach and cut their staffing budget in half. Gonna be a fun night rewinding those burgers and that highlight reel again 🍿
Memes are analysis too.