Defending champion Alex Pereira brutally knocks Khalil Rountree in the fourth-round technical knockout at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.
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The Brazilian champion was dropped in the second round of the bout but managed to show resilience after receiving some lightning-fast striking and a right-hand counter from an awkward angle from the American Rountree.
Khalil Rountree Jr. gave Alex Pereira a tough fight, but it wasn't enough to win the light heavyweight title. The Brazilian champion came back strong in the third round, targeting Rountree's lead leg with calf kicks and landing some stiff jabs. Rountree managed to reach the fourth round, but two heavy body punches from Pereira left Rountree's blood streaming open from several cuts. The fight was stopped at 4:32 in the fourth round, as Pereira was declared the winner by knockout.
Pereira became the fifth fighter, joining Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, Chuck Liddell, and Frank Shamrock, to win three pay-per-view main events in a calendar year by knockout or submission.
“I can say that this was one of the toughest fights.” “I expected that. He showed tonight why he’s got so much quality in here.”
A battered and bloodied Rountree had nothing but respect for Pereira, as he still enjoyed the moment despite coming up short in his first attempt at becoming UFC champion.
“My thought coming into this fight was just to be grateful.“ I was really excited to come in here and I just embraced the moments. I don’t think I was surprised at all. I thought I was going to be able to hit him a lot more. He did a really good job of evading the punches.”
