UFC 320: Alex Pereira vs Magomed Ankalaev 2 – why Brazilian is ‘like Isaac Newton’

Plinio Cruz narrows his eyes and looks directly into the camera when he is asked what makes Alex Pereira different from other fighters.

Cruz is Pereira’s long-time coach, who has been by his side for the majority of his remarkable career.

He slowly raises his finger and points at his head before answering.

“I’m not comparing him, I’m not being cocky, but this is an example. Isaac Newton years ago had ideas that the church didn’t understand because he was ahead of his time,” Cruz tells BBC Sport.

“When I first started working with Alex around 2017 he used to tell me things that only now are starting to click in my brain.

“I was coaching him without really understanding the meaning behind things, because of how far ahead he sees the game.

“Now I’m able to coach him much better because we have that connection. But a connection with an average fighter takes months – with him it took years.”

When Brazil’s Pereira joined the UFC in 2021, he arrived as a two-division world champion in kickboxing promotion Glory.

In just under four years since his UFC debut, he has repeated that feat, winning the middleweight and light-heavyweight belts and growing into one of the promotion’s biggest stars.

The 38-year-old’s aura was dimmed slightly when he lost the light-heavyweight title to Russia’s Magomed Ankalaev in March – but he has a shot at redemption.

At UFC 320 in Las Vegas on Saturday, Pereira could reclaim that belt when he faces 33-year-old Ankalaev in a rematch.