Pereira wins, retains UFC light heavyweight crown

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Pereira wins, retains UFC light heavyweight crown

Alex Pereira has retained the UFC light heavyweight crown by beating Khalil Rountree Jr. by TKO with 28 seconds left in the fourth round at UFC 307.

Rountree (14-6) showcased his speed early and delivered several hard strikes, but Brazilian Pereira showed more accuracy and consistency in landing blows during the opening rounds.

Stamina favoured Pereira (12-2) in the fourth round. He put Rountree on his heels and had him repeatedly covering his face to block strikes. Pereira eventually backed him against the fence and rained blows on Rountree until he dropped to his knees and the referee stopped the ******.

Pereira’s victory, his third consecutive successful title defence, headlined five main card fights on Saturday night in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Julianna Pena defeated Raquel Pennington via split decision to reclaim the women’s bantamweight crown in a bout billed as the co-main event. Pena originally held the crown after defeating Amanda Nunes at UFC 269 in 2021 and then lost it to Nunes in a rematch at UFC 277 in 2022.

Pena (13-5) fought her first UFC bout in two years, while the loss snapped a five-****** winning streak for Pennington (16-10) extending back to 2020.

Kayla Harrison defeated Ketlen Vieira by unanimous decision in the other women’s bantamweight bout. Harrison (18-1) made a big statement while outlasting Vieira (14-4), who entered the bout as the No.2 ranked bantamweight fighter. She bulldozed Vieira to the canvas in the first round and again in the third and kept her shoulders pinned to the floor in the third round until the final *****.

Roman Dolidze (14-3) beat Kevin Holland by TKO in the middleweight bout, his sixth victory in eight bouts. Holland (26-12) bowed out before the start of the second round after suffering a rib injury and walked away with a loss for the third time in his last four bouts.

Mario Bautista (15-2) prevailed over Jose Aldo by split decision in the men’s bantamweight bout to earn his seventh straight victory. Bautista pressured Aldo (32-9) with relentless attacks over three rounds. But he also pinned the former UFC featherweight champ against the cage for long stretches and the split decision favouring Bautista earned boos from the Delta Center crowd.

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