Alex Pereira Reveals USADA Agent Followed Him In Viral Walmart Video, Not An Employee

The person who adopted former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira in a viral Walmart clip was a member of the U.S. Anti-Doping Company.

Pereira will face former UFC champion Jan Blachowicz within the UFC 291 co-main occasion this Saturday in Salt Lake Metropolis. He’ll make his UFC mild heavyweight debut after a loss to Israel Adesanya for the middleweight belt at UFC 287 earlier this yr.

As Pereira was getting ready for his subsequent Octagon project, he had an unusual moment during an innocuous visit to a local Walmart. He took a selfie video of a person following him across the retailer as he was buying, earlier than publishing it to social media.

Pereira’s follower was initially regarded as an worker who was involved about Pereira probably shoplifting, but it surely seems a USADA agent was the perpetrator.

Alex Pereira Says USADA Adopted Him Into Walmart

Throughout his UFC 291 pre-fight media day press convention, Pereira defined the backstory behind the viral clip.

“That video began as a joke,” Pereira mentioned. “I prank loads. Once I was leaving my home to go to Walmart, USADA got here, so the man needed to comply with me to Walmart. I made that video to prank individuals into considering an worker was following me…it is unhappy, however at the very least this was a joke with the USADA guys.”

USADA turned the primary impartial anti-doping program in U.S. athletics in 2015. After partnering with the UFC, they’ve helped enhance the integrity of competitors out and in of the Octagon.

Whereas USADA’s presence within the UFC has arguably been profitable, it hasn’t all the time been peaceable. Fighters have gone on the file sharing numerous occasions USADA has invaded their privateness in an try to check for prohibited substances.

As Pereira will get prepared for his mild heavyweight debut this weekend, he is placing his odd Walmart buying journey behind him and his USADA follower into the rearview mirror.