MMA Junkie's Fight of the Month for October: Khalil Rountree tests Alex Pereira, who achieves UFC history

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from October 2024: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie's Fight of the Month award for October.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.

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Nominees

Nominee: Brandon Royval def. Tatsuro Taira at UFC Fight Night 244

Brandon Royval (17-7 MMA, 7-3 UFC) and Tatsuro Taira (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) displayed with the highest level of flyweight fighting looks like in a five-round thriller that included striking, grappling and submission attempts. Royval's pace was superior over 25 minutes, and he got the split decision win.

Nominee: Paul Hughes def. A.J. McKee at PFL: Battle of the Giants

Paul Hughes (13-1) got a big step up in competition against former Bellator champion A.J. McKee (22-2), and he delivered with a split decision triumph. The Irishman used some well-time strikes and knees to rattle McKee and prove that he is a lightweight on the rise.

Nominee: Darren Elkins def. Daniel Pineda at UFC Fight Night 245

Darren Elkins (29-11 MMA, 19-10 UFC) added another bloodbath to his catalogue in his featherweight bout with Daniel Pineda (28-17 MMA, 5-8 UFC), which he won by unanimous decision. It was another gritty, tenacious fight where blood was spilled with from both sides, but in the end Elkins got his hand raised, and Pineda announced his retirement from MMA competition.

Nominee: Mateusz Rebecki def. Myktybek Orolbai at UFC 308

Some fighters will go their entire careers without experiencing a bloody battle like lightweights Mateusz Rebecki (20-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) and Myktybek Orolbai (13-2-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) put on. It was a ridiculous display of damage, heart and determination by both ends over 15 gruesome minutes, and although they both got Fight of the Night honors, it was Rebecki who got the win by split decision.

Nominee: Ilia Topuria def. Max Holloway at UFC 308

Ilia Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) lived up to his promise to become the first to knock out of Max Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) in MMA and defend his featherweight title. Before that happened, though, their pair put on a high-level contest that had fans on the edge of their seats. It likely would've continued until a decision, but Topuria's power prevailed.

The winner

The winner: Alex Pereira def. Khalil Rountree at UFC 307

Alex Pereira continued to shine as the MVP of the promotion after claiming victory in his fourth main event title fight in 11 months.

Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) defended his light heavyweight title for the third time by defeating Khalil Rountree (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC).

The challenger put up a stiff fight early, but ultimately, the champ retained by stopping Rountree with a hellacious flurry at 4:32 of Round 4.

Both landed well-placed countershots early in the fight. Pereira kept Rountree guessing with kicks, while the champ only dealt with punches coming in his direction in a competitive first round.

Pereira missed with a big head kick attempt in Round 2, leaving an opening for Rountree to crack him with a big punch. A combination and a heavy head kick soon followed, securing a clear second round for Rountree.

Early in Round 3, Rountree continued to land hard counterpunches, backing Pereira into the fence. Midway through, Pereira went back to adding hard leg kicks to his offense to slow down Rountree’s responses, which proved to be a pivotal point in the fight.

Rountree was busted open from strikes, and a jumping knee from Pereira prompted a heavy forward-pressure attack to seal the third round.

Bruised and bloodied in Round 4, Pereira continued to pick apart his opponent with sharp single strikes while trying to evade the return punches. Pereira turned up the pressure as Rountree began to back away, drawing out a wild firefight.

Rountree was forced to cover up as he retreated to the fence with his right eye swollen shut, but Pereira was cautious of the counters and didn’t leave himself open. “Poatan” got a hold of Thai clinch to dig in more strikes, and the following flurry of heavy punches closed the show.

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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: MMA Junkie's Fight of the Month for October: Khalil Rountree tests Alex Pereira, who achieves UFC history