Alex Pereira’s desire to save the day once again at UFC 310 is hindered by a lingering injury suffered in his last title defense.
Alex Pereira defended his UFC light heavyweight title against Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307 last month. Just weeks after the win, the UFC matchmakers reportedly reached out to Pereira to potentially headline UFC 310 after Belal Muhammad’s withdrawal from the event due to injury.
After accepting short-notice title defenses at UFC 300 and UFC 303, it sounds like Pereira won’t be able to save the day this time around. The UFC is exploring other options, as of this writing, for the UFC 310 main event, as reported by MMA Fighting‘s Guilherme Cruz.
Meanwhile, Pereira might take some time off after suffering a significant hand injury against Rountree.
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Alex Pereira finished Khalil Rountree Jr. while suffering from a significant hand injury
In a recent appearance on the Podpah podcast, Pereira revealed a hand injury he suffered against UFC 307 that could postpone his return to the Octagon.
“That fourth round, I was throwing jabs and hurting my hand,” Pereira said. “I swear. I was thinking, ‘My hand must be broken.’ It still hurts. Not all the time, no, but if I squeeze here, it hurts.
“I saw that the jabs were working and thought, ‘I have to hurt him. But then I hit him right there in the [forehead], one of the hardest parts [of the body], and it kept hurting [laughs].” (h/t MMA Fighting)
Remarkably, Pereira overcame the mid-fight injury to finish Rountree in Round 4. Rountree left the Octagon a bloody mess following the UFC 307 main event.
Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev expected for next LHW title fight
Pereira is expected to face Magomed Ankalaev for his next UFC light heavyweight title defense. Ankalaev, a former title challenger, most recently defeated Aleksandar Rakić at UFC 308 earlier this month.
Pereira has cemented himself as a UFC superstar after setting numerous records in his promotional stint. He’s the fastest to turn multiple UFC world championships and is the first and only fighter to win the middleweight and light heavyweight belts.
UFC 310 on December 7th is the final promotional pay-per-view card of the year. Shavkat Rakhmonov, who was supposed to face Muhammad in the main event, could face another top contender for an interim welterweight title.
In the meantime, Pereira continues to heal up from his hand injury as he works towards another Octagon return. For now, it appears the ‘Fighter of the Year’ candidate won’t headline the year’s final UFC pay-per-view.