Daniel Cormier confirms Alex Pereira nearly pulled out of UFC 307 during fight week: “We may pull out”

Daniel Cormier has revealed Alex Pereira nearly pulled out of his UFC 307 return.

‘Poatan’ is fresh off his return to the cage in the main event of UFC 307 on Saturday. In the main event of the pay-per-view card, Alex Pereira faced fellow striker Khalil Rountree Jr. For the Brazilian, the fight was his third in 2024, previously defeating the likes of Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill.

As a result, he entered the UFC 307 main event as a heavy-betting favorite. However, ‘The War Horse’ had far more success than expected. Rountree scored an early knockdown and entered the championship rounds up on the scorecards. However, Alex Pereira eventually broke down the challenger, earning a fourth-round knockout victory.

Post-fight, the Brazilian revealed that he was dealing with injuries during fight camp. While Alex Pereira didn’t open up too much on those injuries, they were nearly enough to force him out of UFC 307. Speaking on a recent edition of the ‘Good Guy, Bad Guy’ podcast, Daniel Cormier discussed the Brazilian’s return.

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Daniel Cormier reveals Alex Pereira nearly pulled out of UFC 307 return

There, ‘DC’ stated that Alex Pereira’s team informed the UFC they may have to pull out during fight week. According to Daniel Cormier, ‘Poatan’ informed the company he was going to travel to Salt Lake City and see how he felt in training. Luckily, Pereira felt good enough to fight on Saturday night. As a result, Julianna Pena and Raquel Pennington remained in the co-main position.

“I was talking to his coach and his manager after the fight.” Daniel Cormier stated on the podcast, discussing Alex Pereira’s UFC 307 victory. “They said they told the UFC, ‘We’re going to go to Salt Lake and we’re going to try and train. But, we may pull out.’ That’s what they said.”

He continued, “The UFC said, ‘That would suck, but let us know how it goes. We have two title fights, we’ll elevate one if that’s what we need to do’.”

What do you make of these comments from UFC commentator Daniel Cormier? Who do you want to see Alex Pereira fight next?