Alex Pereira left Khlalil Rountree Jr bloodied up after their clash at UFC 307

The Brazilian successfully defended his light heavyweight title for the fourth successive time after stopping Rountree in the championship rounds.

Pereira defended his light heavyweight title for the fourth timeGetty

Rountree fought his heart out and even dropped Pereira in the second round with a right hook that nearly caused one of the UFC’s greatest upsets.

‘Poatan’, however, found his feet as the bout went on and used his experience and well-equipped gas tank to work the American down and eventually finish the fight.

The 37-year-old’s victory also meant he broke the record for the most title defences in the shortest amount of time, surpassing Ronda Rousey’s record of 189 days in two less weeks.

Dana White awarded the clash a bonus as the fight of the night, meaning both men picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances.

Elsewhere on the card in Salt Lake City, Utah, Julianna Pena was victorious over Raquel Pennington to reclaim her bantamweight belt, while MMA veteran Jose Aldo lost out to Mario Bautista and Kevin Holland fell to Georgia’s Roman Dolidze.

In only her second UFC fight, former Olympic Gold medalist Kayla Harrison moved up to the No.2 ranked bantamweight after her victory over Ketlen Vieria. Joaquin Buckley was also awarded a bonus for the performance of the night following his knockout win over Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.

The main event clash for UFC 307 started as a fairly even affair and it could be argued that Rountree surprisingly won the first two rounds.

The Las Vegas native came out strong and often looked to land big shots that would instantly knock Pereira out cold. These would eventually be the 34-year-old’s downfall later in the bout.

As the rounds continued, the more patient fighter in Pereira began to close the gap on Rountree, walking him down with numerous jabs that cut open his opponent.

Rountree’s stamina was clearly at an all time low and exhaustion was kicking in, which offered Pereira the opportunity to continue beating up his opponent, landing several well-timed hooks while mixing in several uppercuts.

Pereira’s relentless onslaught eventually led to Rountree bowing outGetty

Pereira’s jab nearly caused the American’s face to explode@homieblogger on X

Then, as the fight came to a close, Pereira landed what has been deemed one of the most brutal jabs in MMA history.

A user on X posted a version of the punch in slow motion and it’s not an easy watch.

Rountree’s face is so beaten up that the jab almost makes his face explode as his blood is sprayed all over the octagon.

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier even shared a photo of Rountree’s blood that had spilled onto the back of his phone that lay on the commentator’s table.

Referee Marc Goddard thankfully waved off the fight with less than 30 seconds left into the fourth round after Pereira landed a massive knee up the middle and followed up with a huge right uppercut.

UFC commentator and podcaster Joe Rogan discussed a conversation with the referee on the live broadcast after the main event.

He claimed Goddard told him he had never heard anything like the sound Pereira’s punches were making, adding they were ‘ungodly’.

MMA fans praised the No.8 ranked Rountree for his warrior-like performance in a matchup that he ultimately outperformed in.

One said: “Rountree truly gave it his all. For him to last over three rounds to who’s arguably one of the best pound-for-pound fights, says a lot. What an amazing fight!”

While another added: “Respect to Rountree tanking for such a long time, tried his best.”

A third commented: “Rountree has my respect. Dude is tough as hell.”

And a fourth said: “That jab was absolutely brutal. Pereira’s power is unreal. The slow-motion just makes the intensity and impact even more shocking.”

After the fight, Rountree said how grateful he was and that he would never forget the bout in Salt Lake City, while praising Pereira for his ability to evade his punches and counterstrike. 

The UFC continues with Fight Night this weekend as No.1 ranked flyweight Brandon Royval takes on Japan’s Tatsuro Taira at the Apex.