The Brazilians surveyed largely predicted that Alex
Pereira will violently defend his
Ultimate Fighting Championship crown on Saturday.
Pereira vs. Rountree Jr. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order
Now!
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In the main attraction of
UFC 307, Pereira (11-2) will look to keep an iron grip on his
light heavyweight strap against Khalil
Rountree (13-5, 1 NC). Claiming the throne in 2023 by crushing
Jiri
Prochazka, Pereira mercilessly turned away former champs
Jamahal
Hill and a rebounding Prochazka in 2024 thus far. Sherdog
polled several former or current Brazilian greats, including
training partners and trainers alike, who weighed in on the
matchup. Results were strongly in favor of their countryman to
prevail.
Cesar
Almeida, UFC fighter and training partner of Pereira:
“In addition to having fought with Alex three times in kickboxing,
I spent the last two months training with him almost every day in
MMA. Khalil has a very still muay thai style, he doesn’t move much.
Fighting a guy like ‘Poatan’ and not moving much is ‘coffin.’ One
moment, he will [suddenly] connect [with] a [knockout blow]. Of
course, in MMA anything can happen, but I see a victory by KO [for
Pereira] between the second round and third round depending on how
long Khalil resists.”
Carlos
Prates, UFC fighter: “I trained with Khalil many times
in Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand, of course it was almost four years
ago, he must have evolved a lot. But my opinion is not because of
the technical skills, it’s more for his mind. ‘Poatan’ is in a
different level, [and] I see him winning in the first round.”
Fabricio
Werdum, former UFC heavyweight champion: “Dangerous
fight for ‘Poatan’ because Khalil is southpaw and also a striking
specialist. But I think ‘Poatan’ [having a] reach advantage will
make his win [possible]. I see ‘Poatan’ knocking him out.”
Vitor
Miranda, former UFC fighter and UFC Fight Pass
commentator: “Khalil is very dangerous and explosive, ‘Poatan’ too.
This fight will be like ‘don’t blink.’ The best way for Rountree is
to take risks from medium to short distance and believe in his left
hand, because if he stays at distance, ‘Poatan’ will spend the
whole day undermining him, kicking to the calf, jabbing to the
body, kicking to the body. Khalil will have to explode, and this
explosion will be dangerous for both of them…two things can
happen: Khalil [pressuring] ‘Poatan’ all the time [by] attacking
him, or [Rountree] starts to retreat and just defends himself.”
Carlos
Barreto, former UFC fighter and UFC Fight Pass
commentator: “Khalil undoubtedly has brutal KO power. But ‘Poatan’
has more tools, he has more technical elements and knows how to
create bait to attract his opponents. Alex
Pereira, besides being the greatest striker in the world, knows
how to understand his opponent like no one else. I think he will
use leg kicks to reduce Khalil’s mobility, forcing him to walk
backwards, and Khalil gets lost when he is cornered and walks
backwards. I see a knife against a Swiss Army Knife.”
Diego Lima, Chute Boxe head coach: “Khalil is
really dangerous and deserves all respect but ‘Poatan’ has a reach
advantage and is a master on distance control. I believe ‘Poatan’
will win via KO in the first or second round.”