Alex Pereira defended his UFC light heavyweight title with a fourth-round knockout over Khalil Rountree almost a month ago, and he’s still feeling the effects of the win.
“Poatan” said on an appearance on the Brazilian podcast Podpah that his hand still hurts from the fight, which took place at at UFC 307 on Oct. 5 in Salt Lake City.
“That fourth round, I was throwing jabs and hurting my hand,” Pereira said. “I swear. I was thinking, ‘My hand must be broken.’ It still hurts. Not all the time, no, but if I squeeze here, it hurts.”
Pereira went 3-0 in 2024 with a trio of knockouts, the first two over Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka, and has now won five in a row since moving up to 205 pounds.
“I saw that the jabs were working and thought, ‘I have to hurt him,’” Pereira said. “But then I hit him right there in the [forehead], one of the hardest parts [of the body], and it kept hurting [laughs].”
The UFC is yet to announce the next move for Pereira. Despite rumors, the Brazilian star is not an option to headline UFC 310 after recent news of Belal Muhammad’s withdrawal from the Dec. 7 main event.
