Alex Pereira continues to shine as the MVP of the promotion after claiming victory in his fourth main event title fight in 11 months.
In the UFC 307 main event at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) defended his light heavyweight title for the third time by defeating promotionally-ranked No. 8 Khalil Rountree. The challenger put up a stiff fight early, but ultimately, the champ retained by stopping Rountree (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) with a hellacious flurry at 4:32 of Round 4.
Both landed well-placed countershots early in the fight. Pereira kept Rountree guessing with kicks, while the champ only dealt with punches coming in his direction in a competitive first round.
Pereira missed with a big head kick attempt in Round 2, leaving an opening for Rountree to crack him with a big punch. A combination and a heavy head kick soon followed, securing a clear second round for Rountree.
Early in Round 3, Rountree continued to land hard counterpunches, backing Pereira into the fence. Midway through, Pereira went back to adding hard leg kicks to his offense to slow down Rountree’s responses, which proved to be a pivotal point in the fight.
Rountree was busted open from strikes, and a jumping knee from Pereira prompted a heavy forward-pressure attack to seal the third round.
Bruised and bloodied in Round 4, Pereira continued to pick apart his opponent with sharp single strikes while trying to evade the return punches. Pereira turned up the pressure as Rountree began to back away, drawing out a wild firefight.
HUGE land for the Champ 👊 #UFC307 pic.twitter.com/2vmzRofzpw
— UFC (@ufc) October 6, 2024
Rountree was forced to cover up as he retreated to the fence with his right eye swollen shut, but Pereira was cautious of the counters and didn’t leave himself open. “Poatan” got a hold of Thai clinch to dig in more strikes, and the following flurry of heavy punches closed the show.
POATAN WINS THE WAR 🤯@AlexPereiraUFC battles for the TKO victory in the #UFC307 main event! pic.twitter.com/6fjNP9mSsF
— UFC (@ufc) October 6, 2024
Pereira, 37, became the light heavyweight champ by stopping former champ Jiri Prochazka in the second round at UFC 295. He went on to pick up his first title defense in April at UFC 295 on short notice by finishing former title holder Jamahal Hill in the first round. “Poatan” stepped up to save the day again at UFC 303 in June, where he defeated Prochazka in a rematch.
Rountree, 34, was an unlikely challenger but, despite the loss, gave the champ a run for his money. He sees his five-fight winning streak come to an end in his first UFC title opportunity.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 307 results include:
- Alex Pereira def. Khalil Rountree via TKO (punches) – Round 4, 4:32
- Julianna Peña def. Raquel Pennington via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) – to win women’s bantamweight title
- Mario Bautista def. Jose Aldo via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Roman Dolidze def. Kevin Holland via TKO (injury retirement) – Round 1, 5:00
- Kayla Harrison def. Ketlen Vieira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Joaquin Buckley def. Stephen Thompson via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 2:17
- Iasmin Lucindo def. Marina Rodriguez via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Alexander Hernandez def. Austin Hubbard via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
- Cesar Almeida def. Ihor Potieria via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Ryan Spann def. Ovince Saint Preux via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:35
- Tecia Pennington def. Carla Esparza via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Court McGee def. Tim Means via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:19
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.
