Alex Pereira could make another slice of UFC history this weekend.
‘Poatan’ already holds the record for winning two UFC belts quicker than anyone else in company history, and now he’s going after Ronda Rousey’s defence record.
Pereira has become a fan favourite due to his willingness to fight anyone at any timeGETTY
‘Rowdy’ famously defended her bantamweight title three times in just 189 days ten years ago.
Miesha Tate, Sara McMann and Alex Davis all suffered defeats to her during the record-breaking run, which no one has got close to since 2014.
Rousey outdid light heavyweight champions Tito Ortiz and Jon Jones who accomplished the same feat in 195 days and 205 days respectively.
Now another 205lb titleholder could take the record back from Rousey.
Pereira will defend his belt against Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307 on Saturday night.
The Brazilian knockout artist first became the king of UFC light heavyweights when he knocked out Jiri Prochazka in the main event of UFC 295 last November.
In 2024, he’s KO’d Jamahal Hill and beat Prochazka again to cement his reign.
Now he could make his third successful defence in just 175 days when he takes on Rountree Jr. at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, this weekend.
Pereira is a big favourite to get the job done at UFC 307.
Rountree Jr. is ranked #8 in the division and, although he’s riding a five-fight win streak, he’s considered lucky to have gotten a title shot over #2-ranked Magomed Ankalaev.
Rousey set a UFC defence record 10 years agoGetty
Rountree stands in the way of Pereira breaking Rousey’s recordGetty Images
However, he is working on a special move that could stop Pereira from breaking Rousey’s record.
“There could be a possibility of this happening, of this move, this technique happening,” Rountree told ESPN MMA ahead of his first UFC title fight.
“There could be. Yeah. I mean, it’s definitely possible. Am I hunting for it? No.
“If it presents itself, everyone will know, like, ‘Oh s***, that’s it, that’s what he was talking about’.”
Pereira is so confident of victory that he’s already thinking about what’s next.
It appears he wants to move down in weight to challenge Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight title he used to hold.
First things first, he’s got a big task and opportunity in front of him at UFC 307.
