There’s not much left to be said about Alex Pereira except Chama!
The signature catchphrase from the light heavyweight champion seems fitting after he delivered another stunning performance in the UFC 307 main event. It was a very mature fight from Pereira, who fended off a fast start from Khalil Rountree Jr. only to pour on the punishment with each passing minute.
By the time the action moved into the fourth round, Pereira really began damaging Rountree with his punches as the challenger’s face turned into a bloody mess from several cuts. Finally, Pereira backed Rountree against the cage, uncorked two brutal body shots followed by an uppercut that dropped his opponent to the ground in a heap.
The fight was stopped at 4:32 in the fourth round with Pereira moving to 3-0 with three title defenses in 2024.
“I can say that this was one of the toughest fights,” Pereira said following his latest win. “I expected that. He showed tonight why he’s got so much quality in here.”
A battered and bloodied Rountree had nothing but respect for Pereira as he still enjoyed the moment despite coming up short in his first attempt at becoming UFC champion.
“My thought coming into this fight was just to be grateful,” Rountree said. “I was really excited to come in here and I just embraced the moments. I don’t think I was surprised at all. I thought I was going to be able to hit him a lot more. He did a really good job of evading the punches.”
There was no fear from Rountree when the fight started as he came after Pereira with blazing fast punches from the outside. Pereira countered with a stiff calf kick while making sure he stayed out of Rountree’s range with the exchanges on the feet.
Roundtree started to find a home for his lead left hand but he was still coming up just short from really landing on the chin due to Pereira’s height and reach advantage. As the first round ended, Rountree appeared winded as he headed to his corner after exerted so much energy chasing after Pereira.
Always dangerous, Pereira looked like a cobra just waiting to strike as he continued to let Rountree exert himself while he looked for openings to unleash his best strikes. Pereira started throwing a head kick to keep Rountree guessing and then going low to the leg again.
Another kick from Pereira missed and Rountree countered with a huge right hand that caught the Brazilian flush as he dropped to the ground momentarily. Pereira recovered quickly but Rountree definitely got his attention with that shot landed.
Rountree opened the third round with a nasty body kick that showed more variety with his offensive attacks. In return, Pereira continued to chip away at him with those calf kicks and the going back up top with a heavy right hand.
The constant pressure from Pereira also started to include a lightning quick lead jab and Rountree was getting sloppy with his counters. Just before the horn sounded, Pereira came with a knee right up the middle that nearly took Rountree’s head off but he avoided the potential knockout blow.
The jab from Pereira continued to do damage and Rountree’s eye was just cut up and pouring blood down the front of his face and body. Pereira was leading the dance and looking for the kill with Rountree fading badly.
That’s when Pereira just unleased a huge combination that forced Rountree backwards as he got stuck against the cage. Pereira brutalized the body with two massive punches and then threw one final uppercut that crumbled Rountree to the canvas as his night came to a dramatic end.
It was another astonishing night at the office for Pereira, who continuously stepped up whenever the UFC needed him this year and his star power only grows from this latest victory. As far as what comes next, Pereira appears focused on defending his belt at 205 pounds rather than chasing champ-champ status.
“We saw that Dricus [du Plessis] is going to be fighting Sean Strickland,” Pereira said. “He’s a training partner of mine, I don’t want to get in his way. I can move up to heavyweight but this division is great. I feel great with this weight cut and this is where I’m at.”
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