Pereira has the roots of the Pataxo tribe (population is about 12 thousand) from the state of Bahia. In the middle of the 20th century, it was persecuted and integrated into the general population. The tribe spoke the extinct language Pataxo – it was replaced by Portuguese, although some words remained.
Why did it
When Pereira first came to the kickboxing gym, he learned that his first teacher had the same origin: "In the same day I went home and asked my mother. She said that my grandparents were indigenous. It made me feel confident. We wanted to resurrect my lineage and indigenous culture.”
After that, Pereira immersed himself in the study of the ancestry: “There is nothing Brazilian-European or Brazilian-African about me. Both of my parents come from tribes that lived on this land before outsiders came to it. It so happened that when I got https://1win-azerbaycan.com/ into the kickboxing gym, there were only guys like this – purebred Brazilians.
Pereira values origin and cares about preserving the originality of culture. For example, he knows how to shoot from a bow – traditional tribal skill. It became a signature pre-fight gesture: “I performed the bow and arrow ritual. This was followed by an episode with local music. That's how it all started».
Is it possible to do this
Pereira's nickname – "Poatan", which translates as "stone hand" and refers to archery. He uses the national image at press conferences – so it was before the fight against Adesanya: a painted torso, a special headdress and attributes around the neck.
In adulthood, turning to the roots helped Pereira overcome alcohol addiction and rebuilt life values. During the coronavirus pandemic, he traveled from São Paulo to Porto Segura to help the locals with food:
“I want to make a name for myself and use it in the future to help the indigenous people. For the non-commercial purpose of taking advantage of the media platform that the UFC gives me. Because of this, I have the potential to really help the indigenous people.
