Joyagear clears Pereira after fan-snubbing claims at London seminar

Alex Pereira has been cleared of wrongdoing by seminar organiser Joyagear after social media accusations that the former two-division UFC champion snubbed fans at a UK event, with the company admitting the controversy stemmed from its own miscommunication.

The backlash began on Saturday when a fan claimed Pereira refused to take photos, declined to sign merchandise, and ended his session early at a seminar in Keighley. The claims spread quickly online, drawing significant criticism toward the Brazilian fighter.

Joyagear moved to shut down the narrative with a detailed public statement. “As the event organizer, Joyagear takes full responsibility for the organization, logistics, communication, and agreed deliverables surrounding these events,” the company said. “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.”

The organisation explained that Pereira had been told the Keighley event consisted of a one-hour seminar, which he delivered in full and on time. According to Joyagear, he was never informed that autograph signings, individual photographs, or additional post-seminar time had been advertised to attendees or were expected of him.

The episode arrives at an already difficult moment for Pereira. He is coming off a second-round knockout loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC White House, where he had been bidding to become the first fighter in UFC history to hold titles across three divisions by claiming the interim heavyweight championship. Since that defeat, Pereira has been publicly vocal about his belief that referee Herb Dean failed to act on illegal shots to the back of the head landed by Gane during the fight.

Whether Joyagear’s statement is enough to fully defuse the online controversy remains to be seen, but the organiser has been unambiguous in directing blame away from Pereira and onto its own event management.