Alex Pereira has proven yet again at UFC 307 that he is the most dangerous striker in the entire sport. ‘Poatan’ stopped Khalil Rountree in the fourth round, breaking ‘War Horse’ down and battering him until he couldn’t take anymore. And Marc Goddard, who was refereeing the fight and saw the carnage first-hand, explained just how good of a striker the Brazilian is.
Joe Rogan quoted Goddard as saying that the referee, in his twenty years in the sport, had never heard anyone’s punches sound as hard as ‘Poatan’s. How did he describe them? ‘Ungodly,’ that’s the word he used to describe their sound.
“I was in the Octagon after the fight and Marc Goddard came up to me and he said ‘I’ve been doing this for 20 years,’ and he goes ‘the way he [Pereira] hits people’, he goes, ‘the sound is like nothing I’ve ever heard before. He said it’s ‘ungodly.’ That’s what he kept saying, he says ‘it’s ungodly,’” Rogan said on the broadcast.
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Of course, the light heavyweight champion’s one-punch knockout power is clear from his past performances, but it takes something really really special to get someone as experienced as Goddard to use such strong language to describe your striking.
In fact, so ungodly is Pereira’s striking that it seems Rountree is being transported to the hospital for CT Scans after the epic beatdown that ‘Poatan’ put on him in the UFC 307 main event, according to MMA journalist Alex Behunin. Rountree, of course, took some serious damage to his face, especially his right eye.
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One can only wonder at the damage his brain took from eating almost over a hundred punches from Alex Pereira‘s stone-like hands. Thankfully the UFC too, is wondering the same and will get Khalil Rountree tested and get him the medical help he needs. But what is next for Pereira after defending his light heavyweight title thrice in the span of seven months?
What next for Alex Pereira after the UFC 307 victory?
At light heavyweight, Alex Pereira has a clear next opponent- #2 ranked Magomed Ankalaev. The Dagestani, of course, has been passed over twice now by the UFC, despite being the foremost title contender for nearly a year. Most speculate that the UFC is reluctant to put ‘Poatan’ in the Octagon with Ankalaev, who although a striker, does have a ground game, which might prove problematic for Pereira.
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There are no real contenders who jump out of the page in the entire top ten of the division. This is why the UFC had to go all the way down to #8 ranked Rountree for the UFC 307 main event. Dana White wanted Alex Pereira to clean out the 205-pound division before they thought about a move to heavyweight.
Well, except for Ankalaev, it seems there is not much choice for the UFC CEO to put in front of Pereira, at light heavyweight that is. Of course, it is not out of the realm of possibility if Pereira does get his heavyweight wish fulfilled, even as the champ has expressed his satisfaction at being at 205 for the moment. Who do you think Alex Pereira’s next opponent be?
With Khalil Rountree’s Health Put at Risk, Joe Rogan Reveals Marc Goddard’s “Ungodly” Admission on Alex Pereira at UFC 307
