Alex Pereira Defends UFC Light Heavyweight World Championship Title

And still Number One! Monster Energy congratulates 37-year-old Brazilian MMA athlete Alex Pereira on defeating Khalil Rountree Jr. to retain the UFC Men’s Light Heavyweight title at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, Utah. In the night’s headline fight inside the Delta Center, the reigning champion from São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, stopped his opponent via TKO at 4:32 minutes of Round 4.

The brutal, four-round battle also earned Pereira and his opponent the UFC’s $50,000 Fight of the Night Bonus.

UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr. was contested in front of a live crowd of 17,487 spectators inside the sold-out Delta Center in Salt Lake City. With five fights on the Main Card and stacked Preliminary and Early Prelims cards, the Main Card was broadcast live to fans worldwide on ESPN pay-per-view, with preliminary fights streamed on ESPN+.

Monster Energy’s Pereira (12-2) stepped into the Octagon for his third UFC Light Heavyweight Championship title defense. The Brazilian initially claimed the belt by defeating Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 in November 2023. He most recently beat Prochazka in their rematch with a brutal head kick knockout at UFC 303 in June.

Pereira’s title challenger, 34-year-old Khalil Rountree Jr. (14-6) from Los Angeles, California, came to Salt Lake City on a five-fight win streak. Rountree most recently knocked out Anthony Smith at UFC Fight Night in December 2023 and earned Performance of the Night Bonuses in his last two fights. It was time to take a shot at the title in Salt Lake City.

From the start, neither fighter held back their punches. Rountree resorted to his notorious striking from southpaw stance. Meanwhile, Pereira demonstrated discipline and fighting IQ by evading attacks and landing strategic jabs and leg kicks.

In Round 2, the challenger found an opening after Pereira missed a head kick and proceeded to drop the champion by landing a hard right hand. But the scene only increased Pereira’s intensity: In Round 3, the defending champion decimated Rountree with a combination of punishing jabs and stunning calf kicks.

By the time Round 4 rolled around, a visibly damaged Rountree suffered the full force of Pereira’s punch combos. Right until a flurry of body shots saw the challenger fold over by the fence of the cage, as referee Marc Goddard stopped the fight at 4:32 minutes of Round 4 with Pereira named winner by TKO.

“This was one of my toughest fights. I expected that. The game plan was to let him tire. I saw he started decreasing his stamina in the second round. My stamina only goes up,” said Monster Energy’s Pereira upon defending his title at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City.

The victory in Salt Lake City marks the third successful title defense for UFC Men’s Light Heavyweight Champion Pereira. The Brazilian is now on a five-fight win streak. At this point, he defeated all three title challengers via knockout. His rise to the top has been rapid: Over the course of 14 professional fights, Pereira has claimed two UFC Championship titles across two divisions.

Pereira made his UFC debut in November 2021 at UFC 268 and claimed the UFC’s Middleweight Championship title by defeating Israel Adesanya at UFC 281. Previously Pereira was a WGP Kickboxing Middleweight Champion of the World. He held Glory Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Champion titles and has been named a Glory Hall of Famer.