Alex Pereira dominates Khalil Rountree Jr to defend UFC title

UFC megastar Alex Pereira proved once again he’s a different beast as he dominated his latest rival, leaving him unrecognisable.

Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira has done it again.

The Brazilian superstar proved he’s a different beast inside the UFC Octagon at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah as he turned Khalil Rountree Jr into a bloody mess.

UFC 307: PEREIRA VS ROUNTREE JR | SUN 6 OCT 1PM AEST | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. Main Event on Kayo Sports and Foxtel is the exclusive home of UFC Pay-Per-View.

Pereira defended his light heavyweight title for the third time in 175 days, surpassing Ronda Rousey’s previous record of 189 days for shortest distance between three consecutive title defenses.

The American challenger threw everything he had at him and stunned the champ during the opening two rounds.

In what was a tense start to the bout, Rountree sat comfortably ahead on most scorecards. But Pereira began to turn the tide midway through the third round.

As he continued to walk his opponent down, the champ unloaded and ended the bout in a brutal fourth round display.

Watch the hellacious scenes in the video player above

Rountree was out on his feet after several hellacious shots and the Brazilian moved in for the kill.

“Oh my god he is battered, he can’t move. My goodness this is crazy,” Daniel Cormier said in commentary.

Joe Rogan added: “He’s a sitting duck. He looks unrecognisable right now.”

The end came when Pereira delivered two shots to the body before finishing the combination with a right uppercut as Rountree Jr crumbled to the canvas.

Khalil Rountree Jr was beat up

Pereira said the fight had been one of his toughest since he’d entered into the UFC as he heaped praise on his opponent.

“I expected that... he showed tonight why he has so much quality,” Pereira said.

“The game plan was to let him tire... as you know my stamina only goes up and that is exactly what happened.”

The absurd nature of the fight left UFC fans far and wide in utter disbelief as Pereira proved he truly is the king of the Octagon.

Ariel Helwani wrote on X: “HOLLLLLY SH*T. That was nuts. What heart. What violence. Holy smokes. Pereira via KO in the 4th. Male fighter of the year. MVP. Give him all the awards.”

UFC fighter Gilbert Burns wrote: “Wow! What a fight!”

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons wrote: “There’s just nobody like Pereira.”

ESPN’s Stuart Randall wrote: “This guy is something else.”

Alex Pereira left him a bloody mess.

UFC 307 FULL CARD AND FIGHT RESULTS

Main card

Alex Pereira def. Khalil Rountree — TKO (Punches)

Julianna Pena def. Raquel Pennington via split decision (49-48 x2, 48-49)

Mario Bautista def. Jose Aldo via split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)

Roman Dolidze def. Kevin Holland via TKO

Kayla Harrison def. Ketlen Vieira via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)

Prelims

Joaquin Buckley def. Stephen Thompson via third-round KO

Iasmin Lucindo def. Marina Rodriguez via split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)

Alexander Hernandez def. Austin Hubbard via split decision (29-28 x2, 27-30)

Cesar Almeida def. Ihor Potieria via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

Early prelims

Ryan Spann def. Ovince St. Preux via submission (guillotine choke)

Tecia Pennington def. Carla Esparza via unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 30-27)

Court McGee def. Mickey Gall via first-round submission (rear naked choke)

Originally published as Alex Pereira dominates Khalil Rountree Jr to defend UFC title