Alex “Poatan” Pereira put his Light Heavyweight title on the line against Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307. This was his third fight this year as he fought to retain his title against a hungry opponent in Rountree. Despite Rountree’s show of heart, Pereira laid a battering on Khalil, sending him to the hospital after the fight.
Alex Pereira Comfortable in Light Heavyweight Division
Pereira’s dominant victory had commentator Joe Rogan wondering what was next for “Poatan”. Joe asked in his post-fight interview, if Pereira intended to change divisions again. Rogan was perhaps alluding to comments made last month by both Pereira and current Middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis.
Alex ultimately dismissed this, as he did not want to prevent his friend Sean Strickland from having his rematch with Du Plessis, which has yet to be officially scheduled. There was a fleeting comment about a potential move up to Heavyweight, though it seems like Pereira is comfortable at Light Heavyweight as he told Rogan, “We saw that Dricus is going to be fighting Sean Strickland. He is a training partner of mine. I don’t want to get in his way.” Poatan added, “I can move up to heavyweight, but [light heavyweight] is great. I feel great with this weight cut.”
Who’s Next for the Champ?
Even though Pereira has made it clear in the post-fight press conference, that he will be will be “taking some time off, but will [still] be training,”, it leaves fans wondering who will actually be next to face the champion.
Rising Light Heavyweight Magomed Ankalaev has previously accused Pereira of dodging him. He states that Poatan purposely opted for the easier fights rather than accepting his challenge. Ankalaev has a fight scheduled with Aleksandar Rakić later this month and could be Pereira’s next opponent should he be able to remove Rakić as a contender.
There is another, however, who has been chomping at the bit to get back into the octagon with Poatan. Jamahal Hill continues to show his animosity in the crowd, as he could be seen “yawning” as the official results were read by Bruce Buffer. Hill maintains that referee Herb Dean contributed to his knockout loss in their first meeting.
Pereira was asked what he thought of Hill’s yawning. He shrugged, stating sarcastically, “Maybe he just woke up from UFC 300.”
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
