Alex Pereira takes on A24 horror role as The Butcher in Onslaught trailer

Alex Pereira is stepping outside the Octagon and onto the big screen, appearing in the newly released trailer for A24’s action-horror-thriller Onslaught, due in cinemas on September 4.

The former UFC light heavyweight champion plays a character known as The Butcher in the film. According to IMDB, the plot centres on “a mother living in a trailer park who uses her skills to protect her loved ones from a threat that escaped a secret military base, while mercenaries try to contain it.” A24, the studio behind the project, has built a reputation for genre films that blend mainstream appeal with distinctive filmmaking.

Pereira’s move into acting arrives at a particularly busy moment in his combat sports career. The Brazilian is scheduled to return to the Octagon on June 14, where he will face Ciryl Gane for the interim UFC heavyweight title — a bout that would see him competing across two weight classes above the middleweight division where he first made his name in the UFC.

The dual commitments of a major title fight and a Hollywood release in the same summer underline Pereira’s growing profile beyond the sport. With Onslaught arriving just weeks after his expected ring return, the 37-year-old looks set for one of the more unusual summers in recent MMA history.