Alex Pereira successfully defended his light heavyweight title for the third time with his most recent victory at UFC 307. Pereira defeated opponent Khalil Rountree by TKO in a tough four-round bout. Former UFC champion Conor McGregor was highly excited by Pereira’s performance and had some fascinating suggestions for ‘Poatan.’
It was Pereira’s third fight in seven months and fifth light heavyweight bout overall. While there are still a few challenges in the division, fans are eager to see the Brazilian move up to the heavyweight division. McGregor is definitely a big fan, and he made sure to convey his message loudly and clearly with his latest Instagram story.
CHAMA! Great fight, absolutely tremendous bout. Heavyweight, call for heavyweight now.
Conor McGregor via Instagram stories
When asked about it during the octagon interview, Pereira revealed that he would like to continue in the light heavyweight division. Previously, Poatan had suggested the idea of moving up and fighting Jon Jones in a mega fight. Winning the heavyweight belt could make Pereira the first-ever UFC fighter to have belts in three weight classes.
Conor McGregor was HYPED after Alex Pereira’s knockout win, and was BEGGING for him to go to heavyweight 😭😭
“HEAVYWEIGHT! CALL FOR HEAVYWEIGHT, NOW!”
🎥 @TheNotoriousMMA #UFC #MMA #UFC307 pic.twitter.com/wfseZdCOm4
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 6, 2024
Pereira had also discussed returning to the middleweight and challenging Dricus Du Plessis for the title. In the same story, McGregor expressed unhappiness about the move and stated that weight cut is unhealthy for Pereira. It will be intriguing to see what Pereira has in mind for his future.
Alex Pereira reacts to Conor McGregor’s ‘heavyweight move’ suggestion
In contrast to his previous few fights, Alex Pereira really had to dig deep against Khalil Rountree to take the win. Rountree kept his promise and didn’t shoot for a takedown. Instead, the American fighter gave Pereira a tough, striking challenge. The challenger used his speed and explosiveness to land several shots on Pereira.
Rountree was exhausted by the third round, which Pereira took advantage of to gradually break him. During the post-fight presser, Pereira learned about Conor McGregor’s message for him. The Brazilian fighter responded positively to his heavyweight move.
I have called for that before. Dana came in and was very happy and said he was gonna take care of me. If the UFC wants to please me, maybe a fight at heavyweight one day will be something that would really please me.
Alex Pereira via UFC post-fight presser
Dana White was hyped by the main event and congratulated Alex Pereira for the victory. White also credited Rountree for putting on a competitive fight despite the criticism around the matchmaking. Pereira is currently one of the biggest superstars in UFC and single-handedly stole the show at UFC 307. As such, fans await the next from Poatan.
