Alex Pereira has been in the headlines at the beginning of 2026 for his actions outside of the UFC cage.

Anthony Joshua urges UFC's Alex Pereira to switch to boxing - BBC Sport

At the end of 2025, UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira made it clear that he wanted to compete on the upcoming UFC White House event in June.

Despite that, not long before the new year, ‘Poatan’ announced that following talks with the promotion, it is unlikely that he competes on the historic event.

And since then, it is his actions outside of the cage that have seen him steal the headlines, as he heads into another year as arguably the sport’s most popular fighter.

Pereira presents his father with special gift

Video: Alex Pereira brings father to tears with surprise gift - Yahoo Sports

When the clocks rang in the new year, the 38-year-old took the chance to go public with his relationship, as he and fellow UFC star Tracy Cortez posted images and videos online together for the first time publicly.

Of course, that is a story that gripped the MMA world for several days, as fans were given a rare glimpse into ‘Poatan’s’ private life.

And not long after the Brazilian shared his new relationship publicly, he also shared a wholesome video to his social media this Monday afternoon, showing him surprising his father with a new gift.

“Very happy to be able to present my dad with this gift, he deserves it a lot because he gave up his own things to raise seven children. Thank you Dad,” Pereira captioned the video of him gifting his father a brand new golf cart.

As do most fighters, Pereira’s private life is mainly kept under wraps, but last year he did also share images of a new mansion he bought his parents after years of huge success in the UFC.

When will we see Pereira return to action?

At this point, it is relatively unclear when we will see the 38-year-old return to the Octagon.

‘Poatan’ is still hopeful of a sensational heavyweight clash against Jon Jones, however, talks seem to have dried up regarding that potential blockbuster.

Pereira is currently recovering from a broken foot, however, it is unclear whether it is that ongoing injury or something else keeping him out of the cage.