"Had me at the edge of my seat" - Fans react to the moment Khalil Rountree Jr. almost knocked out Alex Pereira at UFC 307

Alex Pereira was able to defend his light heavyweight title for the third time in 2024 when he defeated Khalil Rountree Jr. via fourth-round TKO at UFC 307. While many had written off his opponent leading up to the fight, it proved to be his toughest challenge of the year as all three judges awarded the first two rounds to 'The War Horse'.

The second round was especially impressive for Rountree Jr. as he seemingly had his opponent hurt multiple times. X user @RemyMacs shared footage of one of those instances, where Rountree Jr. almost scored a head-kick knockout similar to Leon Edwards' against Kamaru Usman.

But a last-second head turn from 'Poatan' likely helped him retain the title.

Check out the post re-shared by Championship Rounds below:

Fans reacted to the footage by praising Pereira's reflexes. @CageDaddyMMA wrote:

"Insane reflexes"

@ElonRakhmonov noted that it was nearly the third consecutive main event in Salt Lake City to end with a head kick knockout:

"Imagine 3 head kick KO’s in a row for main events at Salt Lake City 💀"

@BoomPo94467 believes Rountree Jr. should have mixed in some grappling in the bout:

"Khalil's probably top 5 in the division. He just needs to manage his cardio better. And as much as he doesn't want to grapple, he could have won the fight if he just started grappling at round 3. He won the first two rounds. He was gassed by round 3."

@iSosa_ wrote:

"Khalil is a serious threat, that fight had me at the edge of my seat for every second."

Check out the best fan reactions below:

Fan reactions

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Alex Pereira hints at break following UFC 307 victory

Alex Pereira has been the most active UFC champion this year, defending his light heavyweight title for the third time at UFC 307. Following his fourth-round TKO victory over Khalil Rountree Jr., he appears ready to take some time away from the octagon. In a post shared to his Instagram on Sunday, 'Poatan' stated:

"Thank you so much for all the support from my fans last night, all that love just makes me always train hard and perform my best to always bring a show for all of you, this year I did 3 fights and ended with 3 wins, with the end of my last fight I feel that was somehow the end of a cycle, the talk and love that @danawhite show to me and my team after my fight makes me excited to the future will bring for me in the @ufc"

Check out Alex Pereira's Instagram post below:

Pereira has earned some time away from the octagon as he has impressively finished three opponents in 2024, becoming one of the promotion's biggest stars in the process. His return to the octagon will likely come against the winner of the UFC 308 clash between Magomed Ankalaev and Aleksandar Rakic.