Alex Pereira continues to shine as the promotion’s MVP after winning his fourth main event title fight in 11 months. A patient ‘Poatan’ blew through promotionally-ranked No. 8 Khalil Rountree at the UFC 307 pay-per-view top bill. In the aftermath, the Brazilian fighter disclosed that the journey to this point had not been easy this year.
Pereira defeated Khalil Rountree via TKO (punches) – in Round 4 at around the 4:32 mark. The 34-year-old Rountree was an unlikely challenger. Despite the loss, the American fighter gave the champ a run for his money. In his first UFC title shot, he sees his five-fight winning streak come to an end. Pereira had his own set of camp troubles to deal with.
I was in Brazil over a month ago. I had problems with my Visa. I was going over to the consulate every single day… Been here (Salt Lake City) for three weeks. In that time, I was on anitbiotics. I had fever, I had a bad throat. Also, going back, when I was in Brazil, I hurt my rib. It was an injury I had a year ago, that also came back.
Alex Pereira during UFC 307 post-fight conference interviews
The problem did not end there. The throat infection didn’t go away. Pereira admitted that he needed another round of antibiotics. The toe injury he suffered at UFC 300 also bothered him. The discourse of which saw Alex Pereira hurt his toe again at UFC 303 during camp and the fight itself. This also bothered him deeply. Poatan admitted it was the toughest lead-up to any fight he faced before.
😲🤕Alex Pereira says it was a very tough camp where he had to overcome visa problems, 2 rounds of antibiotics, a rib injury and a toe injury:
‘There was a lot of things I went through in this camp and it was a tough fight but it was a tough lead up to the fight and I actually… pic.twitter.com/0y188HRbWq
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) October 6, 2024
All of the struggles certainly made Pereira a bit vulnerable. In the early rounds, Rountree pressured well and landed two critical strikes. Nevertheless, the mentality of Poatan prevailed. He broke Rountree down in the third and the fourth to secure the TKO finish and banked an extra $50,000 FOTN performance bonus for it. Moreover, ahead of the fight, Pereira detailed about his injury troubles.
Alex Pereira revealed numerous injuries before UFC 307
Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira faced one of his most stylistic challenges yet and still battered it to a successful defense of the 205lb gear. Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) was down two rounds to one against challenger Khalil Rountree. However, his reign of terror in the light heavyweight division continued at the weekend’s UFC 307 card. It proved once again why the Brazilian is a proper pound-for-pound fighter.
Logging a fourth-round TKO victory over Rountree in Saturday’s pay-per-view headliner was his trifecta in under seven months. However, ‘Poatan’ told ESPN last Friday through an interpreter and later through Plinio Cruz that it almost never came to be. The combat sports clique is all too familiar with how injuries can break a fight just like that. Pereira might not even have gotten to that point.
The knee had come out of place and I had to stop training [against Blachowicz], …We, as camp, thought about canceling the fight but pushed through. During training, I had to stop to put the knee back in place. I didn’t know if my knee was going to surrender or not…When I was throwing elbows on Jiri, after the knockout I did a front roll. The front roll wasn’t me celebrating, it was me scared to post on the leg.
Alex Pereira during Ceremonial weigh-in and staredown media availability check-ins (@@ESPNMMA)
Pereira had been slated for knee surgery in December. However, the UFC offered him the opportunity to challenge Prochazka for the vacant 205lbs title in November. Then came the big blimp of injuring his toe before UFC 303 and placing it back in gallantly. Pereira was non-committal when asked if he would take time off before UFC 307.
His latest challenge was a bit of a slog to get through. After Khalil Rountree, he has even tripled down (UFC 300 and UFC 303 post-fight sentiments aside) on the move to heavyweight. Now, he has told Megan Olivi that he’ll rest well. But one has to ask: if neither strikers like ‘War Horse’ and a busted leg can subdue ‘Poatan,’ who can? Jon Jones – maybe, if it ever came to be.
