UFC head Dana White has announced that Alex Pereira will put his light heavyweight crown on the line against Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 that is set for October in Salt Lake City. This is welcome news to fans or the event most of whom complains that the event did not have a headliner big name.
The belief was that Ilia Topuria was to fight Max Holloway in featherweight match but that fight was shifted to UFC 308. This left UFC 307 in dire search of that top-billed contest. The noticeable or rather famous fighters included in the card were Raquel Pennington, Aljamain Sterling, Jose Aldo, and Kevin Holland However, the event did not have the glamour associated with a UFC PPV event.
Pereira has come to save the day once more, as he did for UFC 300 and UFC 295 in the last twelve months. Since his move to the 205-freight division, “Poatan” has successfully made two title defence and his opponents have been former champions in the shape of Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill. They are both strikers with Rountree coming in with a higher knockout percentage than Reyes, so their upcoming bout may well be a striking clinic.
Khalil Rountree: A worthy opponent
Khalil Rountree goes into the bout with the sensational nick name “War Horse”; he has been in great form and boasts of a win in four of his last five bouts; in the last bout the phenom knocked out Anthony Smith. Rountree’s knifing is the most explosive in the UFC, and his fight against Pereira should be a stand-up battle, ending eventually in a knockout.
The tattooed Canadian earned a title shot though many expected Rountree to fight Jamahal Hill in the UFC 303 co-main event. However, in one fight, the supplement which Rountree had taken was adulterated and thus he had to withdrawn from the bout. Now, he gets a shot at the champion, in what many fans and analysts have called a match up that came out of left field.
Of course, one has to mention the case of another gross injustice done to a deserving APSU fighter – Ankalaev was left out in the cold.
The announcement of this fight, Pereira vs Rountree has not been without some backlash. Most fans and analysts believe that the #2 ranked light heavyweight Magomed Ankalaev who is on a twelve-fight unbeaten run should have been given the title shot not the #8 ranked Rountree. Ankalaev has not fought Pereira and he is a ground specialist, which might bring out the worst in Pereira.
His next and very important bout will take place at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi: Ankalaev will fight Aleksandar Rakic, and the outcome of the bout may define further title shots for the winner. But if Ankalaev loses the fight, he would be potentially even closer to the title, and there will be more criticism of the UFC for providing yet another striker for Pereira.
Dana White’s Calculated Move
Thus, it is possible to regard Dana White’s decision to place Rountree and Pereira in one fight as quite thoughtful. In selecting Rountree as a stand-up fighter, the UFC practically guarantees a crowd-pleasing fight which may not only translate into PPV sales. But, it also makes the organisation vulnerable to criticism of shielding Pereira from dangerous fighters such as Ankalaev who could very well challenge him for the title.
