Alex Pereira’s main motivation for chasing third UFC title has nothing to do with becoming the GOAT

Alex Pereira wants his inspirational story to be heard.

The former two-division Glory Kickboxing champion has become one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts thanks to UFC title wins at both light heavyweight and middleweight.

No fighter has achieved double-champ status as fast as Pereira inside the Octagon, as he took just two years to conquer multiple weight classes.

Next up, ‘Poatan’ will attempt to become the first-ever three-weight king, an achievement that some think will make him the greatest of all time. But the chance to earn that status is not what Pereira is chasing.

Alex Pereira wants more people to know his story by winning at UFC White House

Pereira will fight Ciryl Gane at the upcoming UFC event on the White House lawn, where the interim heavyweight gold will be on the line.

Collecting a third divisional belt will put the Brazilian star into the history books as the first three-division champion on MMA’s biggest stage.

Pereira’s first coach thinks he’ll be the GOAT should he defeat ‘Bon Gamin’ on June 14, and a number of MMA veterans have shared that same sentiment.

But during a recent interview with Megan Olivi for Paramount+, ‘Poatan’ insisted that he is motivated by something more important than such fighting accolades.

“For me, it’s very important,” Pereira said of his historic opportunity in Washington D.C. “This is something nobody has ever done before, and I’m right there, close to accomplishing it.

“I’m very happy to be able to show a little more of my story. Because we know that whenever you achieve something big — and we’re talking about a third belt here — people start paying more attention to you.

“The media starts focusing on you more, and that gives me the opportunity to show a bit more about my childhood, the difficulties I went through, things that many people can relate to, even alcoholism,” he added.

“More people are going to see that now, and that’s very important to me.”