WATCH: Glover Teixeira pranks Alex Pereira with the spider filter

Alex Pereira is currently one of the scariest fighters on the UFC roster. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira has taken 'Poatan' under his wing and had a significant influence on his transition to MMA and path to championship glory.

The reigning middleweight champion has a reputation for being intimidating, and several UFC competitors have echoed this assessment. In the second episode of UFC 287 Embedded, Alex Pereira made a lighthearted remark, claiming that he has been breaking mirrors in his house because he is afraid of what he sees in the reflection.

One would think that a fighter with Alex Pereira's intimidating demeanor would be fearless by nature. And yet, Glover Teixeira used an Instagram spider filter to pull off a hilarious prank on Pereira. He captioned the post (translated):

"Poatan is on the alert."

Check out the post below:

Alex Pereira rose to the top of the middleweight division in a short amount of time. Despite having just three fights under his belt, 'Poatan' was given a shot at the UFC gold against Israel Adesanya, an opponent he had already beaten twice in kickboxing.

He dethroned Adesanya at UFC 281, taking his record to 3-0 against 'The Last Stylebender' in their multi-sport rivalry. The Brazilian will be making his first title defense against Adesanya at UFC 287 with the former champion now back on the hunt for gold.

A victory at UFC 281 must have given the champion a sense of accomplishment towards the objective he set for himself when he transitioned to MMA from a successful kickboxing career, as well as the confidence that comes from having prevailed each time he has competed against Adesanya.

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Glover Teixeira sheds light on what Alex Pereira needs to do to beat Israel Adesanya at UFC 287

Glover Teixeira, Pereira's coach, and mentor, and a former UFC light heavyweight champion himself is well aware that 'Poatan's upcoming bout will be the toughest of his career.

Winning again will require an extraordinary effort since Adesanya is approaching the upcoming bout with the perspective of a "hunter". Teixeira has been actively involved in devising a game plan to emerge victorious at UFC 287.

Shedding light on how Alex Pereira can beat Adesanya again in a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Teixeira stated:

“He knows the way we won the last fight....He waited too much to pull the trigger. He just needs to be more alert in this fight because Izzy, he’s fast. He moves a lot, and that’s what we’ve been working on. Be alert, be focused and when the opportunity comes, just take the fight to the finish. He is a finisher. He can finish a fight at any given second."

He added:

“He’s a powerhouse. The guy hits so hard and he’s just got to pressure more and get it done, like he did in the fifth round. Of course, he knows not to just go crazy and try to finish the fight in the first round. But be more alert.”

Check out the interview below: