Alex Pereira and Khalil Rountree | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Khalil Rountree Jr. came up short at UFC 307, but he didn’t take for granted the long path he took to get there.
In Saturday’s main event at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Rountree went toe-to-toe with light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira before eventually succumbing to strikes in Round 4. Though Rountree was covered in blood by the end of the bout, he gave the former kickboxing star a run for his money in the striking department, and afterwards he told Joe Rogan that his mood wasn’t dampened by the loss.
“My thought coming into this fight was just to be grateful, really,” Rountree said in his post-fight interview. “I’ve been doing all this for a long time and everybody heard my story, but I was just really excited to come in here, and I really just embraced the moment all the way up until this moment.”
“No, I don’t think I was surprised [by Pereira’s striking] at all,” Pereira continued. “I thought that I was going to be able to hit him a lot more, but he did a really good job at evading the punches and counter-striking.”
Before Rountree could finish his thought, he had to blow a bloody stream of snot out to clear his nose. The gruesome gesture was a fitting exclamation point for one of the most violent fights of 2024.
Rountree, who went from Ultimate Fighter finalist to UFC title challenger over an eight-year stretch, had nothing but love for the crowd in Salt Lake City and vowed to compete in Utah sometime in the future.
“I’ll never forget this training camp my whole life,” Rountree said. “You guys have been so f*cking awesome. I would love to come back anytime, train at altitude, fight here again, I love you guys. I swear to God I’ll be back one day.”
Alex Pereira came out on top in his latest title defense, but his journey to UFC 307 could have been cut short on a number of occasions.
Following his thrilling main event win over Khalil Rountree Jr. on Saturday in Salt Lake City, the reigning light heavyweight champion revealed to reporters his preparation for the fight was laden with maladies and misfortune.
“The fight was really tough, but only my team really knows how tough this camp was,” Pereira said at the evening’s post-fight press conference. “I went through a lot of stuff that nobody really knows about. I was Brazil over a month ago, I had some problems with my visa, I was going over to the consulate every single day trying to see if my passport was ready to be picked up. Finally made it back to the U.S., spent about a week in Connecticut, been here for three weeks, in that meantime I was on antibiotics. I had a fever, I had a bad throat, and a lot of things happened.
“Also, going back, when I was in Brazil I hurt my rib. It was an injury that I had about a year ago and it came back, so that was also something that I was dealing with. Then when I came here, my throat was still bad. I went to the doctor, had another round of antibiotics. I even recorded a video-at the time, I said in the video I would show it if I won, so we can put that out at some point-but I went through a lot. Also, the ligament in my toe that was hurt from UFC 300, that came back. There’s a lot of things that I went through in this camp. It was a tough fight, but it was a tough lead-up to this fight, and I actually feel really proud of myself at this moment.”
Injuries piling up for Pereira might be expected given his hectic 2024 campaign. UFC 307 marked Pereira’s third title defense of the year and his fourth championship fight since November 2023. “Poatan” has become one of MMA’s most popular figures both due to his spectacular performances and the frequency with which he delivers them.
But don’t think for a second he wants to make it a habit of overcoming adversity.
“I’d honestly rather not go through what I went through because the body suffers,” Pereira said. “You suffer physically, but the mind is really what suffers in these cases, so I’d rather not have to go through that.”
It’s Pereira’s opponents that typically take the brunt of the damage when he steps into the cage, though Rountree was hardly a punching bag. Known as the “Glory Killer” for scoring wins over Glory Kickboxing veterans Gokhan Saki, Karl Roberson, and Dustin Jacoby, Rountree threatened to live up to his nickname at several points in Saturday’s fight as he traded heavy strikes with Pereira.
In the end, Pereira’s famed finishing ability shined and he beat Rountree down with a barrage of strikes in Round 4. He then stated his intentions to stay at light heavyweight rather than chase a title in another division, which could set him up to face the winner of the upcoming UFC 308 contest between top contenders Magomed Ankalaev and Aleksandar Rakic.
Just don’t expect Pereira to hop back into the cage so soon again as even he has to admit his level of activity has become difficult to manage.
“For sure, it’s a lot,” Pereira said. “I think that there is a limit. I want to push myself as much as I can. I’m 37 and I want to take advantage of time, but I do need to take a break. I have some commitments in Mexico and Korea and Malta … I need to take some time off, but I’m going to be training.”
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Mario Bautista punches Jose Aldo | Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC
Mario Bautista scored the biggest victory of his career Saturday, winning a close split decision against UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, but many people disagreed with the judges’ call — including MMA superstar Conor McGregor.
“The Notorious” took on social media Saturday night to call the result a “dirt” and “bullsh*t” decision, and Bautista responded during his UFC 307 post-fight media scrum.
“Conor can kiss my a** and he can fight whenever he’s supposed to,” Bautista said. “Take the fight against [Michael] Chandler. Shut up.”
McGregor complained on social media that Bautista “was shooting in just to hold him against the fence”, and “that’s not good enough”. The Irishman believes the referee Mike Beltran should have separated them because there is “no point prolonging these positions as if they haven’t taken place exactly the same way prior and nothing has taken place but [stalling].”
Bautista explained his strategy, citing Merab Dvalishvili’s performance against Aldo — also in Salt Lake City — as reference.
“The performance is what it is. Had to do what I had to do,” Bautista said. “I got cut in the second round. I got hit with something pretty good. I was able to drive him through the fence. He has good takedown defense, but he cannot get off the cage. That’s not my fault, you know? If that was me, I’m able to circle off the cage. So whatever the crowd thinks, whatever everyone thinks, I mean, that’s on him.
“He wasn’t getting off the fence and I’m not gonna let him off the fence. And I try to take him down, he’s good right there. And like you said, that’s something Marab did, and now look at him, he’s the champ. … I thought I did enough. Striking wise he was getting after a little bit but like I said, he just gave up a lot of time on the cage, so that that’s on him.”
Bautista said he was not worried about the boos because boors os cheers, “it’s energy” for him. Now 15-2 as a professional and riding a long winning streak, Bautista said he’s open to facing Henry Cejudo next.
“We’ll see who comes up,” Bautista said. “I was thinking [Cory] Sandhagen, but he’s kind of coming off a loss I’m a seven in a row now. Someone that’s been calling out [Sean] O’Malley, [and] O’Malley just lost, so if Henry Cejudo wants to fight, we could do that too.”
The light heavyweight challenger had some surprising things to say about his tough loss to ‘Poatan’ in Salt Lake City.
Khalil Rountree Jr. may have come up short against Alex Pereira at UFC 307, but his performance in the first half of their fight undoubtedly raised his stock in the eyes of many fans (watch the highlights here).
Coming into Salt Lake City, many questioned why the UFC was even booking the No. 8 ranked light heavyweight to fight Pereira for the 205 pound title. But not only did “War Horse” keep his word that he wouldn’t shoot a takedown against “Poatan,” he won the first two rounds on the feet, according to all three judges’ scorecards.
But as fatigue set in and Pereira’s leg kicks broke down his movement, Rountree slowed and what worked in the early rounds no longer worked. Pereira started piecing him up in the third round, and the fourth turned into a bloody beatdown that ended via TKO with just under 30 seconds to go. Through it all, Khalil remained game and kept fighting back. It was a valiant effort, if not enough to defeat the reigning champion.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Khalil Rountree Jr. (@khalilrountree)
In a new post on Instagram, Rountree reflected upon the defeat.
“I didn’t win the title but I grew last night,” he wrote. Alex Pereira, thanks for helping me see that I’m ready to take on the world. You showed amazing skill, you brought out a version of me that I needed to experience. You’re the champ for a reason, much respect. But I now know what I am capable of.”
“Brazil, you guys have a strong champion, be proud,” he added. “I will take time to heal from this. I’ll be back even better, it’s inevitable. I’m grateful. Never give up on yourself, always fight hard, uplift your communities, and find ways to make the most out of life. Delta Center thanks for hosting us. UFC 307 was a night to remember.”
The picture Rountree chose for his post is worth a thousand words: Khalil moments after the loss, with his eye cut open and his nose split with an X like an anime character … smiling. Legitimately happy to have experienced the fight. Coming up short, but knowing he gave it his all.
We’re looking forward to seeing what he does after some time off to heal up. After a performance like that, he’ll undoubtedly have a lot of new fans.
For complete UFC 307 results and play-by-play, click HERE!
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