Alex Pereira just defended his light-heavyweight belt against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 in a fight that could be signaling the next stylistic wave change on the mixed martial arts scene. The Brazilian sensation shocked the entire world when he used a switch kick to the head to knockout Prochakza in the second round. The former Glory Kickboxing champion’s prowess was on full display as he completely neutralized Prochazka, even to the amazement of Dana White!

UFC͏ Su͏prem͏o Dana White was init͏ially ͏hesitant about bringin͏g k͏ickbox͏ing talen͏t ͏into the UFC, c͏onsidering it to ͏be ineffectiv͏e. However, over the years, two of ͏his biggest stars have emerged from the k͏ickbo͏x͏ing community. Recently͏, Joe Rog͏an ͏rev͏e͏aled ͏a ͏conve͏r͏s͏͏at͏io͏n he had wit͏h Israel Adesanya abo͏ut ͏the upl͏͏iftment of͏ kickb͏oxers in t͏he UFC.

Speaking at the closing moments of the telecast, Rogan told his fellow commentators, Daniel Cormier and Jon Anik, “I’m just such a giant fan of kickboxing, and I always want to see those guys attempt MMA.” He further added, “When I see an elite kickboxing champion, I always have [asked] ‘Have you ever thought about MMA?'”

Presently, Pereira is one of the biggest stars of the promotion, but this was not the case when he was initially signed by UFC. Dana White was highly skeptical about signing him. Why? Well, because he was coming from a kickboxing background and was old as per the UFC middleweight elite standards. White thought that he would be just another journeyman but boy was he wrong!

Well, Joe Rogan, who has always voiced for more kickboxing participation in the promotion was happy when he witnessed Alex Pereira knocking out Prochazka in the second round. Immediately after the fight, Rogan revealed a conversation with Israel Adesanya where they were talking about the advent of kickboxers in the promotion.

“I talked to Izzy about that way back in the day, and Izzy told me he was going to get ready, was going to get more grappling in, and he was doing some fights in China, you know? And to see a guy like Alex go from being a two-division world champion to becoming one of the… I mean, right now he’s one of the greats, he’s a legend. What he did tonight, and I mean, he has shut Jiri down.”

Now, Dana White cannot be blamed for thinking the opposite. For the last few years, grapplers dominated the UFC scene, and he was rightfully skeptical of bringing a kickboxing champion in his mid-30s with minimal grappling experience over onto the UFC!

Dana White reveals his initial thoughts on Alex Pereira

Before making it big in MMA, Alex Pereira was THE kickboxing star. The Brazilian held a marvelous record of 33 victories and 7 defeats. Out of those 33 victories, Pereira had won 21 by way of knockouts. He was also the first-ever two-division champion in Glory Kickboxing and held two wins over then-middleweight UFC champion Adesanya. This was enough for Dana White to bring him into the MMA scene. However, according to the UFC head honcho, he never thought Pereira would make it big.

At the UFC 303 post-fight press conference, White emphasized, “It’s incredible, right? I mean, I didn’t think like that, especially when you have guys coming in from kickboxing who have had this long kickboxing career and are older coming into the UFC. I thought the opposite: ‘These guys are not going to do so well here. They’re going to get taken down, smashed, submitted, you know, all that stuff.’ But man, was I wrong.”

At the time Periera made his way into the UFC, grappling-heavy fighters were dominating the scene. Starting from the trend that Khabib Nurmagomedov set in place, several stars like Kamaru Usman, and Aljamain Sterling were the top dogs around. Well-rounded stars like Alexander Volkanovski and striking phenoms like Adesanya were exceptions. That was until Usman and Sterling dropped their titles to strikers Leon Edwards and Sean O’Malley, respectively, over the next few years.

Pereira, too, has answered the grappling question rather successfully. These new-generation strikers seem to be taking their discipline to elite levels while showing significant takedown defense to fend off wrestlers and grapplers. What’s more, as Rogan repeatedly said during the UFC 303 broadcast, every round starts on the feet, and these fighters make it count (Pereira finished the fight less than thirty seconds into the second round).

What do you make of White’s change of perspective? Are we seeing a new stylistic shift on the MMA scene? Will strikers outsmart grapplers more, or will wrestling take over the scene once again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.