The eyes of the combat sports world were firmly fixed on Salt Lake City this past weekend, with countless fans around the globe watching with bated breath as Alex Pereira walked through the fire to deliver yet another stunning knockout.
One man who was particularly invested in the title fight was former middleweight champion and Poatan’s long-term rival, Israel Adesanya, whose reaction to the main event is already going viral online.
Israel Adesanya shares live reaction to Alex Pereira’s win at UFC 307
Former middleweight king Israel Adesanya was hosting a live watchalong party for UFC 307 alongside comedian Andrew Schulz, with their reaction to the incredible knockout making for some fascinating viewing.
“If Khalil knocks him out, that would be amazing – but I think Alex [Pereira] knocks him out,” predicted Adesanya as the two light heavyweight warriors stared each other down before the opening bell.
Yet throughout the early portions of the bout, Adesanya’s critique would often mirror those of the commentary team with ‘The Last Stylebender’ identifying the leg kicks as a particularly potent weapon of Poatan.
Although he couldn’t help but offer a wry smile as he noted how dangerous it is for Pereira to work his magic along the fence, harking back to his own KO win over Poatan back at 185lbs.
“Where’s the leg kick? Find the legkick… It’s the reach, it’s the leg reach; he can’t touch it… He’s [Pereira] got this now, but against the fence he can’t get cocky or get comfortable… S— happens [against the fence]
“Khalil is better early on, I think he has to [knock Alex out now] otherwise Poatan is going to get those leg kicks going again because the way he’s throwing those leg kicks is impressive and his hands are up, his hands are up more than most fights.”
Whilst it was a fabulous performance from the Brazilian, Khalil Rountree Jr certainly took the fight to him; wobbling Pereira on several occasions, including with a beautifully timed hook as Pereira looked to turn a corner.
The knockdown caused panic in the Adesanya household, with Andrew Schulz even eating an elbow from the former middleweight champion as they rushed to their feet.
“This fight is bated breath because at any moment, even Khalil could still drop him, but Alex could knock him the f*** out…. Oh no! He’s fine, he’s fine – it was a flash [knockdown], it was a flash [knockdown].”
Yet as the UFC 307 main event entered the championship rounds, Adesanya began to see the writing was on the wall for a fourth-round knockout as he claimed: “I can feel it, he’s on him – Pereira’s on him, I can feel it, I can feel it [and] now it’s going to be CHAMA time.”
Pereira would find the stoppage deep into the fourth round, with Adesanya quick to praise the insane toughness and heart shown by the veteran title challenger.
“F***, Khalil is tough but he’s not tough enough – toughness gets you hurt… Good on him, he lasted longer than I thought he would but at least someone else got him to the fourth round, that shows how good Khalil is.
“He’s [Pereira] got some hard fights in front of him, but he is that guy right now… Shoutout to Khalil and his heart, fighting with a broken nose, a f***** eye, he knew not to blow his nose in the fight, respect and stock will go up after this… What a moment.”
Following his impressive knockout over Rountree, Alex Pereira would admit that he’s now looking forward to some well-deserved time away from the sport to let his body heal up.
Luckily, his next opponent could be confirmed as soon as the end of this month when the promotion returns to Abu Dhabi for UFC 308.