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Who Is Alex Pereira’s Coach & Cornermen? Glover Teixeira, Plinio Cruz, Teammates & Gym

Originally posted on EssentiallySports | By Prit Chauhan | Last updated Oct 2, 2025 4:20 AM ET

Alex Pereira may be a knockout machine, but no champion fights alone. Behind ‘Poatan’ stands a team that has helped him conquer two divisions in under four years. With 9 UFC wins, two belts, and a string of highlight-reel finishes, Pereira’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric.

Now, as he prepares for his rematch with Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320 on October 4, the spotlight isn’t only on his fists. Fans want to know: who are the men guiding him, pushing him, and standing in his corner when the lights come on?

Which gym does Alex Pereira train in?

Alex Pereira trains with Glover Teixeira at the latter’s gym in Connecticut. The coach has been around for Pereira for his matches, just like Plinio Cruz, cornering him from outside the cage. Perhaps it’s no wonder that both fighters have struck gold with the UFC. Both of them eventually lost their titles down the line, but that doesn’t mean it won’t come back to Pereira.

While Glover Teixeira has retired, he still relentlessly coaches Alex Pereira along with Cruz. Now, ‘Poatan’ is all set to take on Magomed Ankalaev for the second time this year, and his mentor is guaranteed to corner for what people claim is his toughest challenge yet. Besides having top-class coaches, did you know that Alex Pereira also has some of the best MMA fighters in the world today as his training partners?

Yes, he does, and one of them even includes a former rival as well. But let’s take a look at another name in his corner, one that not only trains but also translates for the Brazilian star!

Who coaches Alex Pereira?

Since the beginning of his MMA venture, Alex Pereira has been training under the tutelage of a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master who’s also a specialist in Muay Thai, Plinio Cruz. ‘Poatan’s BJJ coach is nothing short of a brilliant martial artist who has a black belt in Judo as well as Jiu-Jitsu. Cruz was also a professional fighter, having competed in promotions like Bellator and M-1.

Pereira received his Jiu-Jitsu brown belt from Cruz right after he beat his nemesis, Israel Adesanya. He’s managed to take down ‘Izzy’ in kickboxing and then snatched his title away from him in the UFC as well. All this while Cruz sat in his corner, cheering and guiding him!

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A post shared by Alex “Poatan” Pereira (@alexpoatanpereira)

Cruz himself hasn’t fought in the cage since 2019. Back then, Alex Pereira’s BJJ coach faced Douglas Humberto Queiroz Silva as his opponent and yielded. Since then, he has made no other commitments than coaching.

As mentioned earlier, apart from Cruz, ‘Poatan’ is also coached by the former UFC light-heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira for the ground game department. But enough about his coaches, because now it’s time to see where he trains and who the other fighters on his team are.

Alex Pereira’s cornermen & teammates

Alex Pereira has an ungodly amount of power in his ‘Hands of Stone’ and former middleweight champion Sean Strickland got the taste of it when he got knocked out by the Brazilian star at UFC 276. In the aftermath of that clash, ‘Tarzan’ and ‘Poatan’ developed one of the unlikeliest of bonds, becoming training partners, and they even trained ahead of Pereira’s UFC 307 clash.
The light heavyweight champ seems to have an affinity towards training with his former rivals, which was apparent when he started training with Yousri Belgaroui, whom he fought three times in Glory, with Belgaroui being one of the few fighters who’ve defeated ‘Poatan’.

Then again, Alex Pereira recently mentioned wanting to move to heavyweight, and he already showed signs that maybe he could fit well in that division when he sparred with Tai Tuivasa. ‘Bam Bam’ didn’t know what to expect from the explosive Brazilian, but he got the same taste as Sean Strickland, recognizing the fact that Pereira was indeed the real deal.

But coming back to one of Alex Pereira’s coaches, there was an important reason why he chose to train with Glover Teixeira. In terms of his professional career, Teixeira last fought in January 2023 and lost his 205-pound title to Jamahal Hill, and right after the fight, he announced his retirement. But how did it all start between Teixeira and Pereira? Well, it was the retired ex-UFC champion who brought him in to train back in 2020.

After training with Glover Teixeira, which wasn’t very easy, MMA became very enticing to the reigning UFC heavyweight champion, and he decided to train under the tutelage of the 45-year-old because of his experience in MMA. “When I came here, it was not easy for me. But I said, ‘I’ve got to stay.’ Now I love it. I am at a level in MMA where I can fight anyone,” said Alex Pereira in 2022 to ESPN, a couple of years after he started training with the former UFC fighter.

As such, Alex Pereira’s journey is not just about the man himself. It’s about the gym in Connecticut where he rebuilt his career. It’s about Plinio Cruz, it’s about Glover Teixeira, a retired champion who became his mentor and closest ally. And it’s about the teammates who once stood across from him but now help him prepare for battle!

This article first appeared on EssentiallySports and was syndicated with permission.

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