Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree early preview and prediction

The UFC is returning to Salt Lake City, Utah on October 5 for UFC 307. It was looking solid beforehand with good fights announced such as No. 9 ranked Jose Aldo taking on No. 12 ranked Mario Bautista at bantamweight, a middleweight fight in Cesar Almeida vs. Ihor Potiera, and No. 6 ranked Movsar Evloev vs. No. 8 ranked Aljimain Sterling, at featherweight. With interesting fights like these, people were wondering what the main event would be. Jon Jones, the heavyweight champion, is being saved for Madison Square Garden for a legacy fight with Stipe Miocic, while Belal Muhammad, the welterweight champion, was saying he could not fight in October due to injuries. Alexandre Pantoja, the flyweight champion, is currently targeting a December return, while Alex Pereira, the light heavyweight champion, previously said he wanted a November return at the earliest. Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Pena, a bantamweight title fight, was being targeted for UFC 307 and that did not seem like the most compelling main event.

As time went by with people having guesses, Dana White went to social media on August 16 to announce that Pereira would be defending his belt against No. 8 ranked Khalil Rountree for the Utah main event, while Pennington vs. Pena would serve as the co-main event. Though Magomed Ankalaev deserved the title shot more due to being higher ranked with many solid wins, this is still a fun main event. Pereira has saved three straight main events this year, involving many circumstances. Before UFC 307, Pereira saved UFC 300, as that was a major event in need of a good main event, and UFC 303, as Conor McGregor pulled out due to an injury that canceled the main event. Pereira's activity is incredible as he saves main events while building a powerful resume in his combat sports career. The kickboxing mentality of loving constant activity has translated well from Pereira's kickboxing career to his MMA career.

Pereira is a dangerous champion, in terms of both intimidation and skill. As he has a Mike Tyson-like look when staring down opponents, he possesses insane power in his hands, a durable chin, and has, probably, the best calf kick game in the UFC. There is no telegraph on his calf kicks, making them impossible to check and see coming, while he checks other opponents' calf kicks skillfully. In his last fight with Jiří Procházka, Pereira showed that he has more than powerful hands that opponents need to protect their heads from as he impressibly head kicked Procházka. Other notable wins of Pereira are Israel Adesanya, Jan Błachowicz, and Jamahal Hill, as all are former champions like Procházka.

While kickboxing is Pereira's main style, Rountree has grown more into the Muah Thai style. Unlike kickboxers, Muah Thai fighters are flat-footed, use their hips for many kicks, and usually, fight more measured with patience. Rountree possesses strong, powerful punches and decent counterstriking. While Pereira's kicks have lots of skill, Rountree's kicks, especially his calf kicks, are mostly just full of power, as they can cripple any fighter he faces. The most notable wins of his career are Anthony Smith, Dustin Jacoby, Paul Craig, and Chris Daukaus.

Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree headline UFC 307

The fight breakdown seems pretty simple, since these fighters are just strikers who will likely have no plan to wrestle. Pereira mostly just has to get the better of the leg kick game against Rountree while finding the right punch to put him out. Rountree has to win the kicking game himself, whether it be by landing the appropriate calf kicks or maybe body kicks, to cripple Pereira in some way. Since he has more MMA experience, Rountree would be smart to try to offensively wrestle, while mixing that with striking, as wrestling is Pereira's weakest area of his game. This fight will mostly come down to who's kicks are more effective and who can land the right punch, at the right time.

Rountree is on a five-fight winning streak, with four knockouts, but has yet to be tested against a top-five light heavyweight. He legitimately could beat the fighters Pereira has beaten, including Hill, Procházka, and Błachowicz, but it has not been seen. He was going to face Hill at UFC 303 but pulled out due to testing positive for a banned substance. No one knows why he even got the title shot unless the UFC just loves this stylistic matchup. As history showed us scenarios with undeserved title shots, Rountree could pull an upset win, as Sean Strickland did against Adesanya, or he could lose, as Steve Erceg did against Pantoja.

Though MMA is a sport where anything is possible, it is most likely that Pereira will get another victory by highlight reel finish. Pereira has been tested, as he has shown he is levels above these light heavyweight strikers. His leg kick game is elite, as he got the better of calf kicks against Adesanya and Blachowicz. Rountree does not seem fond of being pressured with a volume of strikes, as he can shell up at times. That can be dangerous against someone like Pereira.

Prediction: Alex Pereira by first-round KO