Khalil
Rountree says he won’t change his style for his upcoming title
fight.
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Even Rountree likely did not expect his wish to be granted when he
called for title shot against Alex
Pereira after brutally knocking out Anthony
Smith in December 2023. At the time, Pereira had just won the
light heavyweight title with a knockout win over former champ
Jiri
Prochazka at UFC 295 this past November. Two title defenses
later, Pereira is now slated to defend his strap against Rountree
in the main event at UFC 307
on Oct. 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
While initially making his case for a title shot against Pereira,
Rountree had argued that it would stylistically be a fan-favorite
matchup. Now amid severe criticism from higher-ranked contenders,
Rountree continues to defend the matchup by citing the standup
abilities of both athletes. And since he believes he was granted
the matchup for the same reason, Rountree doesn’t plan on robbing
fans of a potential banger by wrestling Pereira.
“So check this out, in my career, I’ve never shot one takedown,”
Rountree recently told The Schmo. “That’s not in my
plans. I’m here to put on an amazing fight for the fans. Like this
one, regardless of what anybody says, this is a fight for the fans.
I think with my style, with his style, this fight’s not gonna
disappoint. So I’m there to do what I do, to do what my fans and
everybody knows I’m capable of. And all I can say is just expect a
banger, man.”
Rountree is currently riding an impressive five-fight winning
streak that includes four finishes. The 34-year-old has finished
nine of his 13 career wins, six of them in the first round.
Meanwhile, Pereira has finished six of his eight UFC wins on the
way to winning two titles within two years of his UFC debut.