Alex Pereira may have found success inside the Octagon, becoming one of the biggest combat sports attractions today, but his struggles continued through his successes, particularly with his past troubled relationship. Having been together with his partner at that time for over a couple of years till 2023, and even getting engaged, things took a pretty drastic turn, and things would even get unwanted public attention in the process.
The former UFC light heavyweight champion is set to face Magomed Ankalaev again at UFC 320 on October 4 in a rematch for the divisional gold. Yet, long before this high-stakes fight, his personal life had already been through its own battles. As such, let’s now take a look at the man with the ‘hands of stone’ on a personal level, with a primary focus on his failed relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Merle Christine.
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Alex Pereira’s relationship with Merle Christine
Contrary to his stone-faced persona, Alex Pereira was seen smiling, laughing, and enjoying himself with his kids and then-girlfriend, Merle. He dated his ex-partner for two years and got engaged at the start of 2023.
Only a month later, however, they were involved in a public breakup that shocked fans. The two had become an integral part of each other’s lives until they broke up at the end of 2023, with no trace of their relationship left on their social media handles. However, in an interview in January last year, Pereira was asked about the breakup and his subsequent posts on socials. The reasons were upsetting, to say the least.
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What are the accusations against Merle Christine?
In an interview after their split, Alex Pereira confessed, “Well, it’s a little hard to talk about this, because for me, I already deleted this person from my life. I would also like to ask my fans to also delete her from your life. It was a person I believed (in). I put her in my house together with my family. After all, I found out that she was married,” the UFC star said. And Merle Christine took to social media to speak up about their split, and she denied Pereira’s claims.
Pereira and Christine deleted pictures of their shared moments, and they proceeded to unfollow each other. Later, the former light heavyweight champion’s ex-girlfriend, Merle, made cryptic posts on his social media, hinting there was more to the story. Now, people mostly talk about Alex Pereira, his fights, and his outside-the-Octagon moments, and his relationship has kind of taken a backseat.
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Apart from planning to marry Merle Christine before they broke up, Alex Pereira hasn’t tied the knot with anyone after that, which means he’s unmarried and single. His sole focus has been on his fighting career, which has quite literally paid dividends. 2024 was his most successful year, and it was then that he became the star he is today. Pereira could get on the same level as Conor McGregor soon enough if he can keep up his good work in the Octagon.
Despite being a single man, Alex Pereira still has a couple more members in his own family. The UFC light heavyweight champion is the father of two boys, Alessandro Vidal Silva and Lohan Vidal Silva.
Following his split with Merle Christine, ‘Poatan’ was linked with another woman. Rumors arose from the combat sports community that Alex Pereira was dating his fellow UFC fighter, Polyana Viana. Why? Because both individuals started sharing stories and posts on their Instagram handles back-to-back.
The combat sports community was absolutely sure that they were dating each other. However, the bubble of love rumors soon burst as both Viana and Pereira unfollowed each other and removed all content related to one another. And not too soon after, Merle Christine would make another appearance in ‘Poatan’s story when he faced the first setback in his light heavyweight run!
Merle Christine celebrates Alex Pereira’s UFC downfall
In March 2025, Pereira walked into UFC 313 looking to defend his title for a fourth time. A win would have placed him alongside Jon Jones in the history books and possibly the matchmakers’ cards. Instead, he lost to Magomed Ankalaev.
If the defeat wasn’t crushing enough, his ex-fiancée added salt to the wound. Soon after, a video of Merle Christine celebrating his loss went viral. “We have a new light heavyweight champion. No more Chama, karma. He lost on International Women’s Day, maybe that’s a sign,” she said. She also dismissed any talk of a robbery, insisting Ankalaev’s win was clear.
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Fans were quick to draw parallels to boxing, where Dmitry Bivol’s ex-wife once cheered his defeat to Artur Beterbiev. But ‘Poatan’ fired back by writing in the comments for the video, “I think she should stop mentioning my name because her husband might get jealous, chama,”
So, what began with love ended with bitterness, leaving scars that linger long after their split. Now, Pereira has bigger battles to fight. On October 4, he gets his chance at redemption in a rematch against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320. Will his focus remain unshaken, or will the echoes of his past continue to shadow him?