Plinio Cruz has spent years holding the mitts for one of the scariest left hooks in the UFC. Now he’s the one getting his hands wrapped.
Cruz, the head coach of Alex Pereira, shared a promotional photo hyping his upcoming debut under the Misfits Boxing banner. The image started circulating on Reddit’s r/MMA on Oct. 9. The same day, The Times of India reported that Cruz is set to make that debut against Gary Olive.
That’s the extent of what’s on the record. The reporting I’ve seen doesn’t include a date, a venue, a weight or a betting line. As the guy who gets paid to care about that last part, I’ll admit I’m curious who the books make the favorite once they hang a number on a coach whose day job is building game plans for somebody else.
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Why it matters
Misfits runs on crossover names and attention. Cruz brings a direct line to Pereira, and Pereira brings eyeballs wherever he goes. The past few days prove it.
A streamer ran into Pereira and tried to goad him into a fight, telling him, “Alex, me and you let’s have a UFC fight bro. Don’t be a b*tch boy, sign the contract,” according to a clip shared by Championship Rounds via maciejmp on KICK. Pereira’s reply, per a clip posted by HappyPunch: “Are you okay? You’re gonna get hurt for no reason. Go play somewhere else.” Coach Tim Welch quote-posted it and wrote on X, “a severe ass whooping is so good for people.”
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Pereira also took a swipe at the UFC 334 card. He said Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit shouldn’t headline, asking, “Why the Women’s Fight is not the Main Event? Okay let me help promote this cause no one is paying attention to it,” in a clip shared by Championship Rounds. Separately, Dovy posted footage on Oct. 10 of Pereira enjoying London.
So the man is everywhere right now, and his coach just picked a promotion that sells exactly that kind of attention.
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What’s next
The obvious question is whether the fighter Cruz usually corners returns the favor on fight night. Nobody involved has said so publicly, so file that under my own wishful thinking. I have a soft spot for the coach who decides to find out personally whether his own advice works. Until Misfits announces a date and someone posts odds for Cruz vs. Olive, the only number attached to this fight is the follower count on Pereira’s account, and that one is plenty big.
