PFL prospect Alexei Pergande rebelled against actually joining Tiktok after learning about video-based social media apps.
The 24-year-old featherweight, who grew up as the son of a Ukrainian boxer, did not understand all of its purpose and he was not interested. His then-girlfriend, now his fiance, tried to convince him to see it, but Pergande said he didn’t want to draw it.
However, when she began to gain a ton of followers who post content on Tiktok, Pergande couldn’t help but pay attention.
“At one point, I remember my fiancé. She was posting stupid videos to Tiktok and had 50,000 followers,” Pergande told MMA Fighting. “I oh my gosh, is she just posting stupid videos online by 50,000 followers?
“But Tikk was a little different. It was dance and all of these things. At the time I didn’t see her installing Tikkk on her (on my phone).
Over time, Tiktok’s popularity exploded, with the app boasting around 15.9 billion active users worldwide. Pergande realizes that he finally decides to take the plunge to start his account.
Pergande stuck to what he knows best. Eventually, his explanation attracted some attention, but that was completely unexpected, says Pergande.
“Titktok began to grow. I finally got there and started playing with some videos,” explained Pergande. “I think my video has become like 5,000 or 10,000 viewers. I was sturdy! That’s a lot of viewing. At the time, I seem to be exploding!
Above all, Pergande felt like he was offering insight into the sport he absolutely loved, but it wasn’t as common when it came to Tiktok’s audience.
That way, Pergande gave the necessary openings to fill the gaps needed for the Tiktok algorithm. His channels were really starting to gain momentum.
“I was watching, and there weren’t enough martial arts creators out there,” Pergande said. “No one really posted about it, so why should we start? I started posting a little sparring clips and a little bit of such a small thing. Then I caught some massive big traction.
“I was making videos and building my personal brands by doing things I enjoyed, but at the same time I was helping this younger generation. I reached out to me, even a lot of kids and older people (and you urged me to start martial arts). For me, it was an opening to the eye.
Pergande confessed that he had decided to try martial arts for him and that people who say that thanks to his video have become interested in sports, will reach out.
Considering that he took part in combat sports when he was still just a child, including taking part in 88 amateur boxing matches before giving full attention to MMA, Pergande was pleased that he began to inspire many people to follow in his footsteps.
“I think I’ve been in Tiktok for three years, and I’ve got thousands of people who say, ‘I’ve started martial arts for you,'” Pergande revealed. “I still have people every time I go to Tiktok. I come in and say, ‘I started jiu-jitsu on the first day, you inspired me, thank you so much.” It’s just such little things.
“I will always preach just how important it is to be able to protect yourself. You don’t have to do anything competitive. It’s not something you have to build a career, but you have to be able to protect yourself and your family. That’s what I always preach.”
What began as a fun way to put his name out there and share his passion for MMA ultimately allowed Pergande to join the Tiktok Creators program, which makes money for those who make those viral videos.
“Tictok, I’ve actually made quite a bit of money in the past (two months),” Pergande said. “They have paid very well over the past two months and it’s been great. I’m just trying to be consistent. It educates people, builds my personal brand and gets paid for it. What else do I need?
“I love changing my content. Anything that is MMA related, I usually post there. It confuses stupid little videos. Keeps the content very extensive. It attracts a variety of fanbases.”
With the next fight scheduled for Thursday, Pergande will primarily focus on his next match in the PFL. That said, the featherweight fighter hopes to share his experience there. Not only will it help to supplement his income, he can also spread the word about martial arts and perhaps even share knowledge about what it is like to make combat sports your career.
“These kids love it and the next generation is coming closer. I want them to develop a certain knowledge of martial arts and people who want to create the martial arts of their careers so that they don’t make the same mistakes as me,” Pergande said. “It’s also because I share it with Tiktok, where I got messed up, I went a little hard on sparring, I made this mistake and I’ll talk about it.
“That younger generation will get you in the same situation and they’ll take a little more level of it and understand how to handle that situation.”