A new year is here, and that means it’s time for Combat Press to take a look back at the best of MMA in 2024. In the coming days, Combat Press will announce its award winners in multiple categories, covering everything from the action in the cage to the biggest stories surrounding the sport.
Three championship fights. Three victories. Three knockouts. That was Alex Pereira’s year in 2024.
The Brazilian’s first title defense came against Jamahal Hill at UFC 300. In what was billed as the biggest fight card in the history of the promotion, “Poatan” headlined the show with an absolutely stunning performance. Needing just 3 minutes and 14 seconds, he dispatched Hill with a left hook that sent him to the land of wind and ghosts. That was just the beginning of an historic year for the Brazilian champion.
Pereira would then go on to step in on short notice, in just two weeks, to rematch a very dangerous Jiri Prochazka to headline UFC 303, after Conor McGregor was unable to compete due to a sore toe. Pereira did not disappoint.
A late first-round knockdown, followed by an early second-round knockout, secured the victory and ended the rivalry once and for all. His third, and final, fight of the calendar year came against another powerful kickboxer in Khalil Rountree at . The fight was a slugfest from the opening bell, ending in the fourth round, after a hellacious beating rendered Rountree unable to continue.
Picking up three victories in a year is an accomplishment itself, doing it in a championship setting is incredible, scoring knockouts in all three of those victories is nothing short of astonishing. For those performances, Alex Pereira wins the 2024 Combat Press MMA Award for Male Fighter of the Year.