It should really come as no surprise, but a wildly entertaining light heavyweight title fight between champ Alex Pereira and Khalil Rountree Jr. earned Fight of the Night at UFC 307.
The headliner was somewhat maligned in advance of the card, mainly due to Rountree’s relatively low profile, and ranking, in comparison to Magomed Ankalaev. Yet the Dagestani had fought for gold once before, and failed to impress. With the UFC in need of a headliner for Salt Lake City, they again turned to “Poatan,” as Pereira is known, their fastest rising star. Having saved both UFC 300 and UFC 303, stepping in on short notice to defend his title, he once again made the save, this time with more of a camp to prepare.
Still, it was an unexpected shot against a fellow dangerous striker. Rountree is one of those figures who might turn up on “most improved” lists, going from an also-ran on The Ultimate Fighter 23 to a bonafide contender. It’s worth noting that the man he lost to in the TUF finale, Andrew Sanchez, no longer fights for the company. Rountree just fought for gold.
He acquitted himself well, knocking down Pereira in the early going, and landing a head kick that might have also dropped the champ had he less of a chin. But Pereira chopped away with leg kicks, then came on strong in the fourth round. After a pair of stabbing blows to the body, Pereira went upstairs with an uppercut leading the way. A few punches later and Rountree slumped to the ground.
Alex Pereira is likely to win Fighter of the Year in 2024, with apologies to Diego Lopes. He did win Fight of the Night at UFC 307, a bonus he’ll share with Rountree. Both take home $50,000 on top of their purse. Performance of the Night bonuses at the event went to Joaquin Buckley, for his KO of Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, and Ryan Spann, who stopped veteran light heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux with a guillotine.
Attendance at UFC 307 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah was 17,487 per UFC CEO and President Dana White, for a gate of $5 million USD.
