This past Saturday night in the main event of UFC 307, the light heavyweight title was on the line. “Poatan” Alex Pereira (12-2) was looking to defend his title for the third in six months as he took on Khalil Rountree (13-6). Poatan was a big betting favorite entering the bout.
That said, Khalil Rountree presented a unique challenge for the champion. Rountree had won five fights in a row and he’s an incredibly dangerous striker. Rountree is incredibly fast and powerful on the feet and in a way, he’s probably the most dangerous striker that Pereira could face at light heavyweight.
He proved that in the first two rounds. While Pereira had his moments, it was Rountree’s speed and explosiveness that really led the dance early on. Pereira was landing solid jabs and still doing damage with leg kicks, but I along with the three judges had Rountree up 2-0 entering the third.
The third round at UFC 307 is where things started to turn around. Rountree started to slow down and Pereira was really starting to damage his lead leg. Late in the round, Rountree was looking exhausted and Pereira was teeing off. In the fourth round Pereira really started to tee off and ultimately scored the finish retaining his light heavyweight title.
What’s next after UFC 307?
With the win over Rountree, Pereira has capped off an incredible 15-month stretch. Last July, he made his light heavyweight debut against Jan Blachowicz where he won a decision. That decision win was followed by four straight knockout wins in UFC title fights.
After this latest title defense, what should be next for the light heavyweight champion? Well, I don’t think you’ll have to look too far to find his next opponent. Later this month at UFC 308, Magomed Ankalaev and Aleksandar Rakic will fight and I believe that fight will be a title eliminator.
Ankalaev honestly should’ve been the latest challenger, but the promotion went with Rountree and that ended up being a great decision considering how great the fight was. Ankalaev has the chance to solidify his title shot with this fight against Rakic. That said, if Rakic wins, he will be another exciting challenger for Poatan.