Alex Pereira was the subject of widespread criticism on social media for allegedly not fulfilling his responsibilities to fans during a recent seminar in the U.K., but the organizers of the seminar are speaking out in his defense.
On Saturday, a rumor spread online accusing Pereira of poor behavior at an event in London. A fan claimed Pereira refused to take photos with fans or sign merchandise and that he ended his seminar time early.
However, seminar organizer Joyagear released a statement taking full responsibility for the incident, calling it a result of a “miscommunication” between the former two-division UFC champion, themselves, and attendees.
“As the event organizer, Joyagear takes full responsibility for the organization, logistics, communication, and agreed deliverables surrounding these events,” the organization said in a statement. “Alex Pereira trusted Joyagear to organize and manage the tour accordingly. Unfortunately, due to miscommunication and shortcomings on our side, the agreed deliverables were not communicated clearly to Alex. As a result, changes had to be made to parts of the events.
“We want to make one thing very clear: Alex Pereira was not at fault.”
It remains to be seen whether Joyagear’s statement helps to quell the controversy surrounding Pereira, who is coming off of a disappointing loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC White House. Pereira was attempting to win the interim heavyweight championship, which would make him the first UFC fighter ever to win titles in three divisions. Instead, Pereira lost by knockout in the second round, and he has spent the past couple of weeks publicly complaining about referee Herb Dean missing Gane landing illegal shots to the back of the head.
See Joyagear’s full statement below.
We would like to address the events that took place during the Alex Pereira U.K. tour.
As the event organizer, Joyagear takes full responsibility for the organization, logistics, communication, and agreed deliverables surrounding these events.
Alex Pereira trusted Joyagear to organize and manage the tour accordingly. Unfortunately, due to miscommunication and shortcomings on our side, the agreed deliverables were not communicated clearly to Alex. As a result, changes had to be made to parts of the events.
We want to make one thing very clear: Alex Pereira was not at fault.
Alex was informed by Joyagear that the Keighley event consisted of a one-hour seminar, which he delivered in full. He was not late, and he completed the seminar exactly as it had been communicated to him. Alex was not informed that autograph signings, individual photos, or additional time after the seminar had been advertised or expected. He acted based on the information provided to him by Joyagear.
We also want to clarify the position of the Keighley seminar organizer. The organizer was fully informed of the seminar duration, the time Alex would be present, and the deliverables that had been discussed with Joyagear. It is therefore very unfortunate that public statements have been made suggesting that Alex Pereira was responsible for the issues surrounding the event. We want to state clearly that he was not.
To everyone affected, we sincerely apologize for our miscommunication and for the inconvenience this has caused.
As a result: All Meet & Greet ticket holders are receiving a full refund.
We have successfully organized many athlete events over the years, and this is not the standard we hold ourselves to. We will carefully review what went wrong, improve our internal communication, and do everything possible to ensure situations like this do not happen again.
The remaining events on the tour will continue as planned, and we will work tirelessly to deliver the experience our supporters deserve.
Thank you for your patience, understanding, and continued support.
