Alex Pereira reveals litany of injuries, misfortunes dealt with before UFC 307

Alex Pereira | Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC

Alex Pereira came out on top in his latest title defense, but his journey to UFC 307 could have been cut short on a number of occasions.

Following his thrilling main event win over Khalil Rountree Jr. on Saturday in Salt Lake City, the reigning light heavyweight champion revealed to reporters his preparation for the fight was laden with maladies and misfortune.

“The fight was really tough, but only my team really knows how tough this camp was,” Pereira said at the evening’s post-fight press conference. “I went through a lot of stuff that nobody really knows about. I was Brazil over a month ago, I had some problems with my visa, I was going over to the consulate every single day trying to see if my passport was ready to be picked up. Finally made it back to the U.S., spent about a week in Connecticut, been here for three weeks, in that meantime I was on antibiotics. I had a fever, I had a bad throat, and a lot of things happened.

“Also, going back, when I was in Brazil I hurt my rib. It was an injury that I had about a year ago and it came back, so that was also something that I was dealing with. Then when I came here, my throat was still bad. I went to the doctor, had another round of antibiotics. I even recorded a video-at the time, I said in the video I would show it if I won, so we can put that out at some point-but I went through a lot. Also, the ligament in my toe that was hurt from UFC 300, that came back. There’s a lot of things that I went through in this camp. It was a tough fight, but it was a tough lead-up to this fight, and I actually feel really proud of myself at this moment.”

Injuries piling up for Pereira might be expected given his hectic 2024 campaign. UFC 307 marked Pereira’s third title defense of the year and his fourth championship fight since November 2023. “Poatan” has become one of MMA’s most popular figures both due to his spectacular performances and the frequency with which he delivers them.

But don’t think for a second he wants to make it a habit of overcoming adversity.

“I’d honestly rather not go through what I went through because the body suffers,” Pereira said. “You suffer physically, but the mind is really what suffers in these cases, so I’d rather not have to go through that.”

It’s Pereira’s opponents that typically take the brunt of the damage when he steps into the cage, though Rountree was hardly a punching bag. Known as the “Glory Killer” for scoring wins over Glory Kickboxing veterans Gokhan Saki, Karl Roberson, and Dustin Jacoby, Rountree threatened to live up to his nickname at several points in Saturday’s fight as he traded heavy strikes with Pereira.

In the end, Pereira’s famed finishing ability shined and he beat Rountree down with a barrage of strikes in Round 4. He then stated his intentions to stay at light heavyweight rather than chase a title in another division, which could set him up to face the winner of the upcoming UFC 308 contest between top contenders Magomed Ankalaev and Aleksandar Rakic.

Just don’t expect Pereira to hop back into the cage so soon again as even he has to admit his level of activity has become difficult to manage.

“For sure, it’s a lot,” Pereira said. “I think that there is a limit. I want to push myself as much as I can. I’m 37 and I want to take advantage of time, but I do need to take a break. I have some commitments in Mexico and Korea and Malta … I need to take some time off, but I’m going to be training.”