One of the scariest men to ever strap on the gloves has acquired his next target.
Alex Pereira will defend his undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title against Khalil Rountree in the UFC 307 headliner on Saturday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. “Poatan” has held the championship for 329 days, just shy of a calendar year. Pereira enters the cage on the strength of a four-fight winning streak. He last suited up at UFC 303, where he cut down Jiri Prochazka with a head kick and follow-up punches in the second round of their June 29 rematch. Rountree, meanwhile, has rattled off five straight victories, four of them finishes. He last competed on Dec. 9, when he turned away Anthony Smith with punches in the third round of their UFC Fight Night 233 pairing.
As Pereira and Rountree approach their looming battle at 205 pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
37: Years of age for Pereira who was born on July 7, 1987 in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, more than 4,800 miles from where he now trains at Teixeira MMA in Danbury, Connecticut.
108: Significant strikes landed by Pereira in his three-round unanimous decision over former M-1 Global champion Bruno Silva at UFC Fight Night 203 on March 12, 2022. It established a personal high-water mark for the Brazilian that still stands today.
250,000: Dollars in post-fight bonuses banked by Pereira across his nine appearances in the UFC. He has been awarded “Performance of the Night” five times.
.837: Cumulative winning percentage between the two men—Adesanya and Quemuel Ottoni —who have beaten Pereira. They boast a combined record of 36-7.
34: Years of age for Rountree, who was born in Los Angeles on Feb. 6, 1990. “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Stella,” “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Tango & Cash” and “Flashback” were the Top 5 movies at the domestic box office at the time.
39: Seconds needed for Rountree to punch out Blake Troop under the Resurrection Fighting Alliance banner on Dec. 5, 2014. Nearly a decade later, it remains his fastest finish to date.
37: Rounds started by Rountree as a professional mixed martial artist. He has involved the judges on seven different occasions and carries a 4-2 record with one no contest in those bouts.
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