Alex Pereira's team quashes rumors surrounding UFC 310 headlining spot
Alex Pereira won't be saving another UFC event this year. The main event of UFC 310 in December has been scrapped due to welterweight champ Belal Muhammad suffering an injury.
Rumors started circulating as fans were clamoring for 'Poatan' to defend his UFC light heavyweight belt against Magomed Ankalaev to save the main event. There's precedent to this as the Brazilian champion stepped in on two weeks' notice to save the main event of UFC 303 last June.
But the rumors weren't true. Sports Illustrated reported that veteran journalist Ariel Helwani was notified that the champion hasn't been offered to fight at UFC 310. Also, the champ apparently already has other plans for the rest of the year, according to his team.
Considering that UFC 310 is set for December 7, Alex Pereira would have had at least five weeks to prepare for Ankalaev. Although this length is not ideal for a world title fight camp, Pereira did accept the UFC 303 bout on just two weeks' notice.
Still, the man deserves some rest after three finishes in three world title fights this year.
Alex Pereira was last seen in action at UFC 307, defeating Khalil Rountree Jr. via TKO
Alex Pereira was last seen inside the octagon at UFC 307 earlier this month. 'Poatan' beat the tar out of his title challenger, no.8-ranked Khalil Rountree Jr. It was the second straight defense of the Brazilian's throne this year and his third straight world title win in 2024 alone.
The first round saw the champion take the aggressive route, which is rare as he is known to sit back and read his opponents first. Because of this, Rountree Jr. was forced to fight on his back foot, exploding on a few occasions but mostly missing.
The second round largely looked the same, with the exception of the champion missing a head kick, which led to him getting dropped with a right-hand counter. The challenger seemed to be gaining confidence by Round 3, getting more aggressive while the champ answered with significant strikes.
Round 4 saw a major shift in Alex Pereira's attack patterns. Instead of going aggressive as he did earlier, the champion methodically picked his shots in a showcase of flow-state striking. The accuracy and power were too much for Rountree Jr. to handle, who went down for the count near the end of the round.