Alex Pereira added another accolade to his growing resume after he became the third fighter to be inducted into the GLORY Kickboxing Hall of Fame.
The Brazilian previously served as a two-division champion in GLORY after capturing both the light heavyweight and middleweight titles before eventually turning his full attention to MMA. He joins fellow GLORY legends Semmy Schilt and “Bazooka” Joe Valtellini in the GLORY Hall of Fame.
“Alex Pereira was one of the greatest champions in GLORY history,” Scott Rudmann, co-founder and Vice Chairman of GLORY, said in a press release. “His accomplishments in the GLORY ring speaks for themselves, as the only man ever hold the champions belt in two weight classes simultaneously.
“Alex continues to make huge waves in combat sports with his successful shift to MMA, and he continues to bring awareness back to the stand-up combat. He devotes time and money to community service in his home country of Brazil, and he is a wonderful guy, always humble about his enormous accomplishments. We’re proud to have in the GLORY Hall of Fame.”
During his career with GLORY, Pereira posted an 11-4 record, amassing the most title defenses in middleweight history during his reign there.
Of course, Pereira famously clashed with future UFC champion Israel Adesanya in two separate bouts while both were competing in GLORY. Pereira scored a unanimous decision win in their first encounter before delivering a brutal knockout on Adesanya in their rematch.
The rivalry carried over to the UFC, where Pereira continued his winning streak against Adesanya with another knockout to become middleweight champion. But “The Last Stylebender” finally exacted his revenge in their second MMA fight.
Since competing in GLORY, Pereira has continued making waves in MMA, and he’ll get the opportunity to claim the vacant light heavyweight title when he faces Jiri Prochazka in the UFC 295 main event on Nov. 11.
This story originally appeared on MMA fighting
