Monster Energy congratulates 37-year-old Brazilian MMA athlete
Alex Pereira on defeating
Khalil Rountree Jr. to retain the
UFC Men's Light Heavyweight title at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
SALT
LAKE CITY, Oct. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- And
still Number One! Monster Energy congratulates 37-year-old
Brazilian MMA athlete Alex
Pereira on defeating Khalil
Rountree Jr. to retain the UFC Men's Light Heavyweight title
at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City,
Utah. In the night's headline fight inside the Delta Center,
the reigning champion from São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, stopped his opponent via TKO at 4:32
minutes of Round 4.
"This was one of my toughest fights. I
expected that. The game plan was to let him tire. I saw he started
decreasing his stamina in the second round. My stamina only goes
up." - Alex Pereira
The brutal, four-round battle also earned Pereira and his
opponent the UFC's $50,000 Fight of
the Night Bonus.
UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr. was contested in front of a
live crowd of 17,487 spectators inside the sold-out Delta Center in
Salt Lake City. With five fights
on the Main Card and stacked Preliminary and Early Prelims cards,
the Main Card was broadcast live to fans worldwide on ESPN
pay-per-view, with preliminary fights streamed on ESPN+.
Monster Energy's Pereira (12-2) stepped into the Octagon for his
third UFC Light Heavyweight Championship title defense. The
Brazilian initially claimed the belt by defeating Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 in November 2023. He most recently beat Prochazka in
their rematch with a brutal head kick knockout at UFC 303 in
June.
Pereira's title challenger, 34-year-old Khalil Rountree Jr. (14-6) from Los Angeles, California, came to Salt Lake City on a five-fight win streak.
Rountree most recently knocked out Anthony
Smith at UFC Fight Night in December
2023 and earned Performance of the Night Bonuses in his last
two fights. It was time to take a shot at the title in Salt Lake City.
From the start, neither fighter held back their punches.
Rountree resorted to his notorious striking from southpaw stance.
Meanwhile, Pereira demonstrated discipline and fighting IQ by
evading attacks and landing strategic jabs and leg kicks.
In Round 2, the challenger found an opening after Pereira missed
a head kick and proceeded to drop the champion by landing a hard
right hand. But the scene only increased Pereira's intensity: In
Round 3, the defending champion decimated Rountree with a
combination of punishing jabs and stunning calf kicks.
By the time Round 4 rolled around, a visibly damaged Rountree
suffered the full force of Pereira's punch combos. Right until a
flurry of body shots saw the challenger fold over by the fence of
the cage, as referee Marc Goddard
stopped the fight at 4:32 minutes of Round 4 with Pereira named
winner by TKO.
"This was one of my toughest fights. I expected that. The game
plan was to let him tire. I saw he started decreasing his stamina
in the second round. My stamina only goes up," said Monster
Energy's Pereira upon defending his title at UFC 307 in
Salt Lake City.
The victory in Salt Lake City
marks the third successful title defense for UFC Men's Light
Heavyweight Champion Pereira. The Brazilian is now on a five-fight
win streak. At this point, he defeated all three title challengers
via knockout. His rise to the top has been rapid: Over the course
of 14 professional fights, Pereira has claimed two UFC Championship
titles across two divisions.
Pereira made his UFC debut in November
2021 at UFC 268 and claimed the UFC's Middleweight
Championship title by defeating Israel
Adesanya at UFC 281. Previously Pereira was a WGP Kickboxing
Middleweight Champion of the World. He held Glory Middleweight and
Light Heavyweight Champion titles and has been named a Glory Hall
of Famer.
Alex Pereira counts amongst
Monster Energy's elite UFC athletes along with Kamaru Usman,
Jon Jones, Marlon Vera, Michael
Chandler, Justin Gaethje,
Yair Rodriguez, Jessica-Rose Clark, Valentina Shevchenko,
Brandon Moreno, Daniel Rodriguez, Gilbert Burns, Giga Chikadze, Johnny Walker, Beneil Dariush, Brendan Allen, Jalin
Turner, Sean Strickland,
Zhang Weili, Dan Ige, Diego Lopes,
Daniel Zellhuber, Derrick Lewis, Belal
Muhammad, Alexa Grasso,
Dricus Du Plessis, Raul Rosas Jr.,
and Merab Dvalishvili.
For more on Monster Energy's MMA athletes,
visit http://www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy
on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
About Monster Energy
Based in Corona, California,
Monster Energy is the leading marketer of energy drinks and
alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional,
Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross,
off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or
the rock and roll lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that
believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports, athletes,
and musicians represent. More than a drink, it's the way of life
lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers, and fans. See more
about Monster Energy including all of its drinks
at http://www.monsterenergy.com.
Media Contact
Kimberly Paige Dresser, Indie
Agency, Inc., (949) 300-5546, kim.dresser@indiepragency.com,
https://www.indiepragency.com
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