Alex Pereira explains waving off referee Herb Dean, meme celebration after Jamahal Hill knockout

Alex Pereira wasn’t going to let a little foul get in the way of another highlight-reel finish.

“Poatan” retained his light heavyweight title with a brutal first-round knockout of Jamahal Hill in the main event of UFC 300 on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Adding another knockout to his résumé is nothing new for Pereira, but the manner in which this one came about definitely raised some eyebrows.

First, Pereira was seen waving off referee Herb Dean as the official looked to step in to address a low kick from Hill that appeared to make contact with Pereira’s groin. Seconds later, Pereira dropped Hill with a left hand and finished with punches on the ground.

So why did Pereira not allow for a pause in the action when he was hit by an illegal strike? He just didn’t want to break his flow.

“I was starting to find my distance,” Pereira said at the evening’s post-fight press conference via a Portuguese translator. “I started using leg kicks from the beginning so I could find his distance. He’s a southpaw, so it’s a little harder.

“My game plan was to start throwing hands after that, so then he threw the groin shot, but it did not really hurt too much, so I chose to just keep pushing so I did not have to reset the distance. Capitalize on the moment.”

The win extended a three-fight win streak for Pereira and added another chapter to his unique MMA career, that has seen him go from two-division Glory Kickboxing champion to two-division UFC champion in less than four years. Pereira defeated Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 captured the light heavyweight belt that was vacated by Hill due to injury.

While Hill was on the shelf, he kept the title in his sights and frequently made overtures to wanting to fight for the title when he returned to action. The tension between Pereira and Hill peaked at a press conference this past Thursday, when Hill smashed a stone head that is a well-known symbol of Pereira’s branding.

That insult prompted Pereira to show off a celebratory pose that quickly went viral.

“I spoke with my team before that I wanted to fight five rounds, but if the knockout happened, that’s what I was going to do,” Pereira said. “He behaved not so good. He started respectful during the week and then he did what he did during the press conference and the weigh-ins, so honestly the least that I could do was just that to him.”

One other aspect of the matchup that generated intrigue was Pereira’s close friendship with coach Glover Teixeira—the fighter that Hill defeated to become UFC light heavyweight champion in January 2023. Pereira and Hill memorably glared at each other inside the cage following Hill’s win that night, but Pereira insists that there was no intention to avenge his friend’s loss when he stepped into the cage at UFC 300.

“No, I came here focused to fight him,” Pereira said. “No revenge, no nothing in my head. I believe that when you take things so much to the heart, you end up screwing it up. So I came here just like if Jamahal had never fought Glover before.”