Alex Pereira just keeps proving the doubters wrong. In his third fight this year, the light heavyweight champ headlined UFC 307 against Khalil Rountree—a matchup that had a lot of people, including big names like Kamaru Usman, Chael Sonnen, and Demetrious Johnson, predicting his downfall. And now, he wants to stay at light heavyweight and keep competing.
Pereira didn’t just survive Rountree, he dominated. After a back-and-forth battle, the champ secured a brutal fourth-round stoppage, carving up Rountree systematically before finishing him with a three shot combo to the mid section.
Once again, Pereira reminded everyone why he’s at the top of the division, showing he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
The fight started off well for Rountree. Both men were extremely respectful of each other’s power and hesitant to swing wildly. However, it was Rountree who found his rhythm first and started to land a few bombs.
According to the majority of MMA fans and pundits, he clearly won the first two rounds. He was more aggressive, landed better shots and also dropped Alex Pereira. However, as the fight went on, he started to gas out and Pereira started to gain momentum.
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The champion also landed a barrage of leg kicks which significantly slowed down Rountree. In addition to this, in the fourth round, Pereira landed a few extremely precise shots that cut Rountree open.
Within seconds, Rountree was in a pool of his own blood fatigued and possibly blurred vision. This was enough for the referee to call the fight a TKO and save Rountree from further damage.
After his win, Pereira asserted since Sean Strickland was his training partner, he would not want to go to middleweight and be in his way. And he’s not interested in heavyweight since getting a title fight there is tough even for the interim champion.
Poatan to rule light heavyweight division with iron fist
Alex Pereira isn’t going anywhere just yet. After defending his light heavyweight title with a dominant win over Khalil Rountree at UFC 307, the Brazilian made it clear he’s staying put at 205 pounds, at least for now.
During his UFC 307 media day, Pereira was asked if he’d rather move up to heavyweight or drop back to middleweight to reclaim his title. His response? “I’d rather defend my belt,” explaining that it takes careful planning to change weight classes.
Pereira left middleweight after losing to Israel Adesanya in 2023 but quickly found success as a light heavyweight, including knockouts over Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka.
While he’s open to a future move, Pereira is content holding down the 205-pound division, especially as names like Magomed Ankalaev circle for potential matchups. This here is his chance to become a legacy fighter.
Sure, winning titles in three divisions would make him a bigger legend than he already is, but so will carving people up like he does at light heavyweight. And once he’s been through the roster, there’s no reason why he can’t explore other avenues.
