Alex Pereira blasts Jamahal Hill in 1st to retain crown at UFC 300 - ESPN

LAS VEGAS — Alex Pereira continued his run as one of the UFC's most dynamic big-fight athletes.

Pereira has already won two championships at New York's Madison Square Garden. And Saturday, he knocked out former champ Jamahal Hill to retain the UFC light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 300 — one of the biggest events in promotion history — at T-Mobile Arena. The finish came at 3 minutes, 14 seconds of the first round after one of Pereira's trademark left hooks.

The finish will live on highlight reels forever. Hill kicked Pereira low, prompting referee Herb Dean to step in and try to pause the fight. Pereira held up his right hand, stopping the official from intervening. Pereira then blasted Hill with the left hook and followed with violent punches on the ground.

«I was gauging the distance and timing,» Pereira said through an interpreter. «Everything went perfect.»

Pereira said the groin kick hurt him a little, but he was just starting to figure out that distance and didn't want to have to reset if the bout was paused. UFC CEO Dana White lauded Pereira not only for the performance, but the style points he gained for how it ended.

«He got hit in the groin,» White said. «He was like, 'Nuh uh,' [to Dean]. And then knocks [Hill] out.… That was incredibly gangster.»

Pereira landed 24 of 30 significant strikes, according to ESPN Stats and Information. He has landed 63% of his significant strikes in the UFC, which is the fourth-best mark in the promotion's history. Pereira has eight knockouts in 10 career wins.

Hill relinquished the title last summer after rupturing his left Achilles tendon in a pickup basketball game. Pereira won the vacant belt by knocking out former champ Jiří Procházka last November at UFC 295 in