Alex Pereira Reveals Hand Injury Following Title Defense Against Khalil Rountree, May Be Out of UFC 310

UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira may have just dashed the hopes of those who wanted to see him compete at UFC 310.

As we know, Alex Pereira has had a pretty incredible year up to this point. He has managed to go 3-0 in the division, successfully defending his belt on three occasions. At this point, many consider him to be one of the best fighters on the planet – and rightfully so.

The expectation is that he will defend against Magomed Ankalaev next. In fact, after Belal Muhammad was forced to pull out of UFC 310, rumors were circulating that the promotion was considering doing Pereira vs Ankalaev on short notice.

However, if the following comments from ‘Poatan’ are to be believed, he won’t be ready for that just yet.

Alex Pereira reveals injury

“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.”

“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].”

Quotes via MMA Fighting

Alex Pereira is an absolute beast. The Brazilian has always been willing to take on any challengers that come his way, and you’d have to imagine he would compete at UFC 310 if he was physically able to do so.

If it doesn’t happen, then the good news is that he’d be able to get a full camp after recovering before taking on Ankalaev. If he is able to get past him, and do so in convincing fashion, he could be setting himself up for a spot in the greatest of all time conversation.