Dana White knows Alex Pereira run won’t last forever: “It’s not like he’s 28 and he’s got this many fights”

UFC CEO Dana White knows Alex Pereira’s days inside the Octagon won’t last forever.

“Poatan” has emerged as a top star for the UFC. He’s coming off a fun standup scrap against Khalil Rountree in the main event of UFC 307. Pereira scored a TKO finish in the fourth round for his third successful UFC light heavyweight title defense.

With how red hot Pereira has been swinging leather, it’s easy to forget he’s 37 years old. White knows “Poatan” doesn’t have the most amount of fights left in him.

RELATED: DANIEL CORMIER CONFIRMS ALEX PEREIRA NEARLY PULLED OUT OF UFC 307 DURING FIGHT WEEK: “WE MAY PULL OUT”

Dana White on Alex Pereira’s Future

Of all current UFC champions, Alex Pereira is always first in line to call for a fight. During the UFC 307 post-fight presser, Dana White said he knows that at Pereira’s age there aren’t a ton of fights left when compared to an elite athlete in their 20s (via MMAJunkie).

“What this guy has done is unbelievable,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC 307 post-fight press conference. “And the way that he’s done it, this guy destroys everybody. … This guy always wants to fight. He’s (37), too – it’s not like he’s 28 and he’s got this many fights (left). But we’ll see how it all plays out.”

White went on to share his view on how Pereira was able to put Rountree away.

“What a hell of a fight. Khalil Rountree, I mean – another level of tough,” White said. “You have to respect this guy, but did this not play out the way everybody thought it would? Everybody at first was like, ‘Oh he’s ranked No. 8.’ But you knew that it was going to be a badass fight. You knew it was going to be badass fight. You can never measure heart. You don’t know how that’s going to go. Well, now you know (with Rountree).

“I felt like the difference was the low leg kick, and when (Pereira) started calf kicking him, he was destroying that leg and he was having trouble putting pressure on it, and he was having trouble with his punching power, his movement, everything. He systematically just started picking him apart.”

Pereira now awaits the UFC 308 clash between Magomed Ankalaev and Aleksandar Rakic. The winner could very well find themselves challenging for Pereira’s gold next.