Alex Pereira TKO’d Khalil Rountree Jr in the 4th round to defend his 205lb title tonight at UFC 307, but he had to fight hard for it.
Round One:
The headlining light-heavyweight title fight is underway in Salt Lake City!
Pereira immediately rushes forward and throws a front kick that Rountree partially catches before they break free.
Rountree throws out his left hand. And again. He steps into that left hand and lands it.
Nice kick for Pereira. Right hand from Rountree. Good right hand counter from Pereira after Rountree went first. Leg kick from Pereira.
Pereira coming forward now. Rountree circles back to the enter of the Octagon. Heavy high kick from Pereira is blocked then lands a low kick.
Jab lands for Pereira and then Rountree fires back with a combination. Pereira comes close with a head kick attempt.
Another head kick attempt from Pereira comes off the guard and Rountree misses with a legsweep counter. Punches from Rountree.
Rountree darts forward with a brief flurry. Punch fromm Pereira. Calf kick for Pereira. Left hand from Rountree. Pereira sliding out of range of Rountree’s overhand attempts late in the round.
Round Two:
Front kick to the body from Pereira. Rountree feeling out with some punches. Calf kick for Pereira. Left hand for Rountree.
Head kick attempt from Pereira is countered by a right hand from Rountree. Jab from Pereira. Another gets through.
Right hand counter landing for Pereira. left hook for Pereira gets through. Calf kick for Pereira. Pereira stalking his opponent. Jab for him. Now a head kick attempt that’s blocked.
Front kick to the body from Pereira. Low kick for the champ. Pereira goes for a punch and Rountree counters with a right hook. Calf kick fromm Pereira.
Jab for Pereira. He lands it a couple more times. Missed head kick from Pereira and then Rountree lands a counter-punch that buckles his legs for a moment.
Pereira recovers quickly though and goes back to pressing forward. Punch for Rountree. Rountree with a short flurry that partially gets through.
Right hand for Pereira. Head kick from Rountree landed, but Pereira somehow withstood it.
Round Three:
Rountree circling on the outside as Pereira pushes forward. Right hand from Pereira but then Rountree blasts him with a hard left hand. Body kick from Rountree.
left hand from Pereira. Solid body punch for Rountree. High kick attemmpt from Rountree. Head kick on the other side from Pereira just whiffed over the target.
Body punch from Rountree. Glancing left hook from Pereira and then a nice right hand. Jab for Pereira. Rountree with a hook.
Calf kick for Pereira. He gets it again. Left hand for Rountree. Another low kick for Pereira. Inside leg kick from Rountree. Left hand from Rountree.
Inside leg kick from Rountree. Jab for Pereira. Heavy punch from Rountree comes off the guard. Jab for Pereira. Head kick attempt from Rountree is blocked.
Overhand right for Rountree as Pereira was trying to land. Body kick for Pereira. Now a jumping knee attempt. Inside leg kick from Rountree. Jabs from Pereira. He lands it again.
Jab and right hand from Pereira as the momentum seems to be shifting in his favor late in the round. He continues to attack as the round comes to a close.
Round Four:
Inside leg kick from Rountree. Leg kick from Pereira. Another inside leg kick from Rountree. Front kick from Pereira to the body.
Right hand partially gets through for Pereira. calf kick for him. He lands it low again. Now a front kick to the body. Body punch from Rountree.
Heavy jab from Pereira might have hurt Rountree, but he disguises that as best he can.
Left hand from ROuntree. Hard punch for Pereira has Rountree backing up for a moment. Pereira with hard shots in close at Rountree tries to respond. Big knee from Pereira.
Rountree wilting under Pereira’s relentless striking pressure and his face is bleeding badly. He’s still a threat when he throws though.
PEreira lands again. Rountree running out of steam. Pereira stalking and staying patient now. Right hand gets through. Rountree fires back. Uppercut from PEreira.
Pereira with hooks and gets to the clinch. Knee strike upstairs and more punches. Rountree fires off winging punches but he’s very tired and beat up at this stage.
Big body punches from Pereira takes the wind out Rountree’s sails and along with a final hook sinks him to the canvas to secure a TKO victory at 4.32mins of the 4th round.
A hard fought win for Pereira then as Rountree tried his best to give as good as he got, making for a highly entertaining scrap, before ultimately wilting in the later rounds as the Brazilian stars heavy artillery finally took it’s toll.
