Tag: alex pereira

Alex Pereira’s Devastating Strikes Leave Opponent Blind in Title Bout

Alex Pereira's Devastating Strikes Leave Opponent Blind in Title BoutBlind or not, Khalil Rountree wasn’t about to throw in the towel against Alex Pereira. Much to the surprise…

Alex Pereira's Devastating Strikes Leave Opponent Blind in Title Bout

Blind or not, Khalil Rountree wasn’t about to throw in the towel against Alex Pereira.

Much to the surprise of everyone, Rountree found himself with a shot at the reigning light heavyweight king at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City. Though the announcement left a lot of fans scratching their heads, there was no doubt that the two heavy hitters would deliver an absolutely banger in The Crossroads of the West.

And that’s exactly what they did.

Khalil Rountree

For nearly four rounds, ‘Poatan’ and ‘The War Horse’ went toe-to-toe with each fighter landing some big blows on the other. But in the end, it was Pereira who would come out on top, battering and bloodying Rountree en route to a TKO with only 32 seconds left in the penultimate round.

Khalil Rountree Couldn’t see against Alex Pereira but he didn’t care

Looking back on their entertaining clash during an appearance on the JAXXON podcast with Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Rountree revealed that at one point during the fight he was essentially blind after absorbing some of Pereira’s brutal strikes.

Khalil Rountree

“I mean, in the moment, you don’t necessarily feel it. Like, for instance, in the fight where this cut happened, I got hit –boom,” Rountree said. “I knew I’d been hit hard because my vision started to blur a little. But the second one that landed, the one that actually split my eye, I literally thought, “I’m blind. But f*ck it, I’m gonna keep going.”

“I couldn’t see anything after that. I just saw light — no shadows, no detail. It was like someone put a frosted film over everything. I was like, ‘I can’t see. I’m f*cking blind.’ But whatever, I’m not giving up. The sensation, though — I didn’t feel anything. The adrenaline was too high. I knew my eye was messed up, but I thought, ‘I’ll deal with it later.’”

The loss snapped Rountree’s five-fight win streak while moving Pereira to 9-1 under the UFC banner.

Khalil Rountree

UFC Rankings Report: Jon Jones Denied Pound-For-Pound Top Spot

As always, the latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the ladder toward contention and others fall away. And in the aftermath of UFC 309, MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings. Men’s Pound-For-Pound: Dana White won’t be pleased looking at the updated P4P pecking order. Jon […]

As always, the latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the ladder toward contention and others fall away.

And in the aftermath of UFC 309, MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings.

Men’s Pound-For-Pound: Dana White won’t be pleased looking at the updated P4P pecking order. Jon Jones’ successful heavyweight title defense at Madison Square Garden wasn’t enough to convince the panel that he should have the crown, with that remaining in Islam Makhachev’s possession. “Bones” has, however, climbed above Alex Pereira (#3) into the #2 position.

Further down, former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira (#15) has returned to the list as a result of his triumph over Michael Chandler on Saturday night. That’s left ex-middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya without a number entirely.

Women’s Pound-for-Pound: No changes.

Women’s Strawweight: No changes.

Women’s Flyweight: There was just one change at 125 pounds, with Karine Silva’s defeat to Viviane Araújo at UFC 309 pushing her back one place to #12. That’s provided a boost for Tracy Cortez, who is up one spot to #11 months on from her main event loss to Rose Namajunas.

Women’s Bantamweight: No changes.

Flyweight: No changes.

Bantamweight: Marcus McGhee has debuted in the UFC rankings following his victory over Jonathan Martinez. “The Maniac” has entered at #14, while his defeated opponent is no longer ranked. Aiemann Zahabi has been a beneficiary of those changes, seeing his number improved by one to #13.

Featherweight: No changes.

Lightweight: A few changes unrelated to Saturday’s pay-per-view have taken place at 155 pounds. That includes a switch of positions for Mateusz Gamrot and Beneil Dariush, with the former up to #8 and the latter down to #9. It’s a similar situation further down the ladder, with Paddy Pimblett climbing above Jalin Turner (#14) to #13.

Welterweight: No changes.

Middleweight: No changes.

Light Heavyweight: No changes.

Heavyweight: Following his defeat to Jones, Stipe Miocic announced his retirement from active competition inside the cage. With that, he’s swiftly been removed from the UFC rankings and replaced by Shamil Gaziev, who’s slot in at #15.

You can view the full updated UFC rankings here.

Tom Aspinall Spots ‘Openings’ in Jon Jones’ Game After UFC 309 KO

Tom Aspinall Jon Jones UFC 309Tom Aspinall believes he has spotted some weaknesses in Jon Jones’ game after watching his performance against Stipe Miocic…

Tom Aspinall Jon Jones UFC 309

Tom Aspinall believes he has spotted some weaknesses in Jon Jones’ game after watching his performance against Stipe Miocic this weekend at UFC 309.

For Jon Jones, it must’ve been an incredible weekend. He was away for only about a year this time, but once he started fighting in the cage, it was like he never left. Jones put on a clinic of smothering grappling, slick trips, and beautiful kickboxing. The kicks to the body were landing aplenty, and at one point, Jones even dazed Miocic with a slick combo on the feet. What spelled doom for Miocic was a sinister spinning back-kick from Jones that sent him crumbling to the octagon floor. Some nasty ground-and-pound punches later, and Jones was standing victorious with another title defense on his resume.

Now, the question is whether the UFC and Jones can successfully negotiate a fight between him and Aspinall to unify the titles. Jones is playing coy and tossing out the possibility of retiring or facing the likes of Alex Pereira for a super fight. Dana White, however, has shut that down and now says that after witnessing Jones fight at UFC 309, a battle with Pereira is off the table. White also mentioned that they’d be willing to pay Jones enough to face Aspinall, who is eagerly waiting in the woodworks, ready for blood.

Tom Aspinall speaks on Weaknesses in Jon Jones’ style

“It was, as you American guys say, by design,” Tom Aspinall said on the ESPN MMA post-show (H/T Bloody Elbow) “(The fight) was exactly what I thought, exactly what I thought would happen.”

“To beat Jon Jones, the most important thing that you need is good eyes, good reactions, quick reactions, and in all honestly, Stipe Miocic just didn’t have that at 42 years old,” Tom Aspinall continued. “Of course, I have only seen Jon Jones fighting on TV before; this is the first time that I’ve seen him up close, and I was sitting at arm’s length from the UFC octagon – it is way different watching it on TV than watching it up-close.”

“I am so happy that I got to see an up-close version of what Jon Jones looks like 37 years old and on the back end of his career, I’m very satisfied.”

Tom Aspinall was asked if Jones had any disadvantages compared to him, and he pointed out an easy one: “The speed, just the speed – there is no chance that he can, I don’t want to say too much you know what I mean… Absolutely, I see everything… Whether I can do it in there, you know Jon Jones is arguably the best to ever do it, but I definitely see openings. Whether I can do it myself, I don’t know, but from the outside looking in, I think I can.”

Do you think Tom Aspinall would beat Jon Jones if they fought?

Tom Aspinall Spots ‘Openings’ in Jon Jones’ Game After UFC 309 KO

Tom Aspinall Jon Jones UFC 309Tom Aspinall believes he has spotted some weaknesses in Jon Jones’ game after watching his performance against Stipe Miocic…

Tom Aspinall Jon Jones UFC 309

Tom Aspinall believes he has spotted some weaknesses in Jon Jones’ game after watching his performance against Stipe Miocic this weekend at UFC 309.

For Jon Jones, it must’ve been an incredible weekend. He was away for only about a year this time, but once he started fighting in the cage, it was like he never left. Jones put on a clinic of smothering grappling, slick trips, and beautiful kickboxing. The kicks to the body were landing aplenty, and at one point, Jones even dazed Miocic with a slick combo on the feet. What spelled doom for Miocic was a sinister spinning back-kick from Jones that sent him crumbling to the octagon floor. Some nasty ground-and-pound punches later, and Jones was standing victorious with another title defense on his resume.

Now, the question is whether the UFC and Jones can successfully negotiate a fight between him and Aspinall to unify the titles. Jones is playing coy and tossing out the possibility of retiring or facing the likes of Alex Pereira for a super fight. Dana White, however, has shut that down and now says that after witnessing Jones fight at UFC 309, a battle with Pereira is off the table. White also mentioned that they’d be willing to pay Jones enough to face Aspinall, who is eagerly waiting in the woodworks, ready for blood.

Tom Aspinall speaks on Weaknesses in Jon Jones’ style

“It was, as you American guys say, by design,” Tom Aspinall said on the ESPN MMA post-show (H/T Bloody Elbow) “(The fight) was exactly what I thought, exactly what I thought would happen.”

“To beat Jon Jones, the most important thing that you need is good eyes, good reactions, quick reactions, and in all honestly, Stipe Miocic just didn’t have that at 42 years old,” Tom Aspinall continued. “Of course, I have only seen Jon Jones fighting on TV before; this is the first time that I’ve seen him up close, and I was sitting at arm’s length from the UFC octagon – it is way different watching it on TV than watching it up-close.”

“I am so happy that I got to see an up-close version of what Jon Jones looks like 37 years old and on the back end of his career, I’m very satisfied.”

Tom Aspinall was asked if Jones had any disadvantages compared to him, and he pointed out an easy one: “The speed, just the speed – there is no chance that he can, I don’t want to say too much you know what I mean… Absolutely, I see everything… Whether I can do it in there, you know Jon Jones is arguably the best to ever do it, but I definitely see openings. Whether I can do it myself, I don’t know, but from the outside looking in, I think I can.”

Do you think Tom Aspinall would beat Jon Jones if they fought?

Tom Aspinall Spots ‘Openings’ in Jon Jones’ Game After UFC 309 KO

Tom Aspinall Jon Jones UFC 309Tom Aspinall believes he has spotted some weaknesses in Jon Jones’ game after watching his performance against Stipe Miocic…

Tom Aspinall Jon Jones UFC 309

Tom Aspinall believes he has spotted some weaknesses in Jon Jones’ game after watching his performance against Stipe Miocic this weekend at UFC 309.

For Jon Jones, it must’ve been an incredible weekend. He was away for only about a year this time, but once he started fighting in the cage, it was like he never left. Jones put on a clinic of smothering grappling, slick trips, and beautiful kickboxing. The kicks to the body were landing aplenty, and at one point, Jones even dazed Miocic with a slick combo on the feet. What spelled doom for Miocic was a sinister spinning back-kick from Jones that sent him crumbling to the octagon floor. Some nasty ground-and-pound punches later, and Jones was standing victorious with another title defense on his resume.

Now, the question is whether the UFC and Jones can successfully negotiate a fight between him and Aspinall to unify the titles. Jones is playing coy and tossing out the possibility of retiring or facing the likes of Alex Pereira for a super fight. Dana White, however, has shut that down and now says that after witnessing Jones fight at UFC 309, a battle with Pereira is off the table. White also mentioned that they’d be willing to pay Jones enough to face Aspinall, who is eagerly waiting in the woodworks, ready for blood.

Tom Aspinall speaks on Weaknesses in Jon Jones’ style

“It was, as you American guys say, by design,” Tom Aspinall said on the ESPN MMA post-show (H/T Bloody Elbow) “(The fight) was exactly what I thought, exactly what I thought would happen.”

“To beat Jon Jones, the most important thing that you need is good eyes, good reactions, quick reactions, and in all honestly, Stipe Miocic just didn’t have that at 42 years old,” Tom Aspinall continued. “Of course, I have only seen Jon Jones fighting on TV before; this is the first time that I’ve seen him up close, and I was sitting at arm’s length from the UFC octagon – it is way different watching it on TV than watching it up-close.”

“I am so happy that I got to see an up-close version of what Jon Jones looks like 37 years old and on the back end of his career, I’m very satisfied.”

Tom Aspinall was asked if Jones had any disadvantages compared to him, and he pointed out an easy one: “The speed, just the speed – there is no chance that he can, I don’t want to say too much you know what I mean… Absolutely, I see everything… Whether I can do it in there, you know Jon Jones is arguably the best to ever do it, but I definitely see openings. Whether I can do it myself, I don’t know, but from the outside looking in, I think I can.”

Do you think Tom Aspinall would beat Jon Jones if they fought?

Tom Aspinall Spots ‘Openings’ in Jon Jones’ Game After UFC 309 KO

Tom Aspinall Jon Jones UFC 309Tom Aspinall believes he has spotted some weaknesses in Jon Jones’ game after watching his performance against Stipe Miocic…

Tom Aspinall Jon Jones UFC 309

Tom Aspinall believes he has spotted some weaknesses in Jon Jones’ game after watching his performance against Stipe Miocic this weekend at UFC 309.

For Jon Jones, it must’ve been an incredible weekend. He was away for only about a year this time, but once he started fighting in the cage, it was like he never left. Jones put on a clinic of smothering grappling, slick trips, and beautiful kickboxing. The kicks to the body were landing aplenty, and at one point, Jones even dazed Miocic with a slick combo on the feet. What spelled doom for Miocic was a sinister spinning back-kick from Jones that sent him crumbling to the octagon floor. Some nasty ground-and-pound punches later, and Jones was standing victorious with another title defense on his resume.

Now, the question is whether the UFC and Jones can successfully negotiate a fight between him and Aspinall to unify the titles. Jones is playing coy and tossing out the possibility of retiring or facing the likes of Alex Pereira for a super fight. Dana White, however, has shut that down and now says that after witnessing Jones fight at UFC 309, a battle with Pereira is off the table. White also mentioned that they’d be willing to pay Jones enough to face Aspinall, who is eagerly waiting in the woodworks, ready for blood.

Tom Aspinall speaks on Weaknesses in Jon Jones’ style

“It was, as you American guys say, by design,” Tom Aspinall said on the ESPN MMA post-show (H/T Bloody Elbow) “(The fight) was exactly what I thought, exactly what I thought would happen.”

“To beat Jon Jones, the most important thing that you need is good eyes, good reactions, quick reactions, and in all honestly, Stipe Miocic just didn’t have that at 42 years old,” Tom Aspinall continued. “Of course, I have only seen Jon Jones fighting on TV before; this is the first time that I’ve seen him up close, and I was sitting at arm’s length from the UFC octagon – it is way different watching it on TV than watching it up-close.”

“I am so happy that I got to see an up-close version of what Jon Jones looks like 37 years old and on the back end of his career, I’m very satisfied.”

Tom Aspinall was asked if Jones had any disadvantages compared to him, and he pointed out an easy one: “The speed, just the speed – there is no chance that he can, I don’t want to say too much you know what I mean… Absolutely, I see everything… Whether I can do it in there, you know Jon Jones is arguably the best to ever do it, but I definitely see openings. Whether I can do it myself, I don’t know, but from the outside looking in, I think I can.”

Do you think Tom Aspinall would beat Jon Jones if they fought?