Alex Pereira has been cleared of claims that he refused to take photos, declined to sign merchandise, and cut short an appearance at a recent London event. The event organizer, Joyagear, has issued a statement taking full responsibility for the issues that arose during the seminar.
According to Joyagear, the problems stemmed from miscommunication and shortcomings on their part regarding the organization, logistics, and agreed deliverables for the events. They stated that these deliverables were not clearly communicated to Alex Pereira, leading to changes in parts of the events. The organizer emphasized that Pereira was not at fault for the issues experienced by attendees.
Seminar Complaints and Organizer’s Response
Fans who attended Pereira’s seminar in Keighley, England, expressed dissatisfaction with their experience. Accusations included that Pereira refused to participate in pre-paid meet-and-greets and photo opportunities. Another organization, MMA Seminars UK, which staged and advertised the event, posted on Instagram, stating they were “Disgusted by what we all witnessed from this man today.” They also directed attendees with questions to reach out on a Monday, indicating the severity of the complaints.
In response to these complaints, Joyagear, the company that organized the seminar, defended Pereira. They asserted that Pereira completed the one-hour seminar as instructed. Joyagear specifically took responsibility for a communication failure concerning deliverables such as photo opportunities, clarifying that these issues were due to their internal management rather than any action by the fighter.
The original claims about Pereira’s conduct circulated rapidly, potentially influenced by his recent post-UFC Freedom 250 behavior. This included legal action against a referee, comments about retirement, and public frustration, which may have created an environment where stories about fan mistreatment could gain traction. However, Joyagear’s statement unequivocally places the blame for the communication and delivery failures on their organization, not on Pereira.
Pereira, known as ‘Poatan‘, has been an active fighter since joining the UFC in 2021, traveling globally for seminars between bouts. He has hosted seminars in various countries, including Australia, Japan, and Thailand. The United Kingdom was the first stop on his post-UFC White House tour, where the seminar in Keighley took place.
Contrasting Accounts and Other Event Cancellations
Despite the complaints, Pereira’s own Instagram Stories from the seminar presented a different perspective. He uploaded multiple video clips showing himself and his head coach, Plinio Cruz, interacting with fans, participating in sparring sessions, taking photos, and signing gloves. In some of these videos, attendees could be heard chanting, suggesting a more positive atmosphere than some reports indicated.
This incident is not the first time Pereira has faced event-related issues. He previously canceled a meet-and-greet in Canada after his social media accounts were reportedly hacked. While Pereira’s footage from the UK seminar offered a contrasting view to the complaints, there have been other instances where fighters have confronted fans and later defended their actions, such as at UFC 300.
In addition to the issues at the London seminar, another meet-and-greet event involving Pereira, planned for the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, was reportedly called off. The organizers, identified as jougearofficial, announced the cancellation due to unforeseen flight issues affecting Pereira. All ticket holders for these canceled meet-and-greets were reportedly issued full refunds, which were expected to be processed back to the original payment method within 7-14 business days.
As a gesture of appreciation, and to ensure attendees still had an opportunity to see Alex Pereira, all meet-and-greet ticket holders for the canceled events were invited to attend the seminar as spectators free of charge, using their original meet-and-greet tickets. However, the personal photo opportunity during the seminar was no longer available. The organizers apologized for the inconvenience, stating the situation was beyond their control. This continued demand for Pereira’s appearances at seminars globally suggests his popularity remains strong, even after his recent loss to Ciryl Gane in the UFC Freedom 250 co-main event.
The statement from Joyagear makes it clear that the issues surrounding the London seminar were due to their organizational failures, not Alex Pereira’s conduct.
Source: boxingnews.com