Pereira TKOs Rountree in Round 4 to retain UFC light heavyweight title

It seemed like a Khalil Rountree Jr. stunner might've been in the cards 10 minutes into the UFC 307 main event. But Alex Pereira was just getting started.

Pereira rallied in the championship rounds to defeat Rountree in his third light heavyweight title defense, scoring a TKO finish at the 4:32 mark of the fourth round Saturday night at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

"I can say this was one of the toughest fights," Pereira said through an interpreter in his postfight interview. "I expected that. (Rountree) showed tonight why he has so much quality in here."

Pereira successfully defended his title for the third time this year after also knocking out Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill. Pereira broke Ronda Rousey's UFC record for the least amount of time between three title defenses at 175 days.

Rountree proved to be a viable challenger, winning the first two rounds on all three judges' scorecards by outstriking Pereira on the feet. Rountree hurt Pereira with a right hand in the second and had a unanimous 29-28 lead going into the fourth.

However, Pereira broke Rountree down in violent fashion in that round to remain the 205-pound king.

With three minutes left in the fourth, Pereira landed a devastating combination that forced Rountree on the retreat. Pereira started walking Rountree down and landing punches at will. Pereira connected on several right hands and a knee while dodging everything Rountree threw at him. Rountree's face was a bloody mess at this point, and UFC play-by-play commentator Jon Anik called him "largely unrecognizable."

Pereira took his time, picking his strikes as he battered Rountree. With 50 seconds left, Rountree's movement was labored, but it was a tremendous display of heart as he remained on his feet and tried desperately to land a knockout blow. Eventually, Pereira got in the pocket and landed two heavy punches to the body and an uppercut, and Rountree finally slumped to the canvas as referee Marc Goddard waved off the fight.

"The game plan was to let him tire," Pereira said. "I watched a lot of his fights. I saw that he started decreasing his stamina in the second round. As you know, my stamina only goes up. So that's exactly what happened."

With the victory, Pereira is 5-0 in the light heavyweight division and 9-1 in the UFC. The Brazilian captured the belt with a second-round knockout of Prochazka at UFC 295 last November and defended it for the first time in the UFC 300 main event in April, finishing former champ Hill in the first round. Pereira then rematched Prochazka at UFC 303 in June, scoring another second-round stoppage.

Rountree, the No. 8-ranked contender, saw his five-fight winning streak end. Rountree was coming off a TKO win over former title challenger Anthony Smith last December.

Pereira could defend his title next against Magomed Ankalaev if the No. 2-ranked contender beats Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308 on Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Pereira has talked about moving back to middleweight or jumping up to heavyweight before, but he said Saturday he wants to stay at 205 pounds and continue to defend his belt.

"This division is great," Pereira said. "I feel great with this weight cut, and this is where I'm at."