This Past October at UFC 307, Alex Pereira successfully defended his light heavyweight title for a third time this year when he finished Khalil Rountree Jr in the fourth round.
Heading into their UFC 307 main event, there was a lot of controversy as many believed that Khalil Rountree Jr wasn’t entirely deserving of his surprise title shot.
Alex Pereira had already saved the promotion on two separate occasions earlier in the year at both UFC 300 and UFC 303 and took his chance to become the most active champion in 2024 with a third fight.
Khalil Rountree Jr admits he was happy following his loss to Alex Pereira
Prior to his fight against ‘Poatan’, Rountree Jr had one slight concern whilst he was in the locker room moments before walking out for the biggest fight of his life.
‘War Horse’ recalls being extremely relaxed and not knowing whether that was a good thing or not, asking his coach for his guidance.
“In the locker room, I was very relaxed to the point to where I asked my coach, ‘I’m very relaxed is that ok?’ and he was like, ‘Yeah it’s perfect’,” Rountree Jr told Fight Energy Film.
There was a wide sense of surprise in the opening rounds of the fight when the challenger took the fight to the Brazilian champion, getting the better of ‘Poatan’ and leading the exchanges.
Despite that, from round three, Pereira began to showcase why he is one of the most feared champions in the sport and began to take over the fight.
However, now a few months removed from the fight, Rountree Jr has admitted that despite losing, he surprisingly felt happy following the fight as it showed him he belongs with the best.
“When I was in the cage and he was walking out the only thing I could really remember is just being happy. Even the moment when I got finished in the fourth round, like, I just felt so happy throughout that whole fight, it felt like where I belonged, I felt like I belonged there. I was really like living in a dream,” he continued.
Since his loss, Rountree Jr has taken it well and has even gained more fans with some of his hilarious skits posted on social media.
Who will Alex Pereira fight next?
Many consider the 37-year-old champion the 2024 Fighter of the Year, and he will hope to replicate his success in the new year.
His next title defense was seemingly set to come against light heavyweight number one contender, Magomed Ankalaev, however, ‘Poatan’ recently suggested that the Russian won’t be next.
Rumors then began to circulate that fellow star, Khamzat Chimaev, could be set to make a move up to 205lbs to take on the Brazilian next.
That rumor sparked after the UFC announced that Dricus Du Plessis would defend his title in a rematch against Sean Strickland next, instead of taking on ‘Borz’.