Khalil Rountree is about to step into the spotlight for the biggest challenge of his career. ‘War Horse’ is set to clash with the dangerous Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira for the light heavyweight title at UFC 307 in Utah next month, and he’s not backing down from the fight fans crave. Rountree knows what’s at stake, and he’s ready to go all-out against the champion in a striking war.

Pereira is a monster on the feet—having already stopped elite fighters like Israel Adesanya and Jiri Prochazka—and many think Rountree’s best shot lies in exploiting Pereira’s relative weakness in grappling. But Rountree isn’t interested in playing it safe. Despite the odds and the warnings, he’s determined to stand and trade, vowing to knock Pereira out. It’s a move fueled by the magnitude of the moment and a desire to give fans the kind of electrifying showdown they dream of.

“I think for one this [UFC 307 clash] is, you know, the highest-level fight that I’ve had in my career. So there’ll be the most eyes on this fight, especially for my fans. I think this is something that a lot of my fans are happy about and I think people are fans of me because of the way that I fight. So part of that approach is just giving people what they paid for, you know,” Rountree said in a recent interview.

“Like when people pay to watch me fight or if they know that I’m on a card they kind of know what to expect. And um that’s just my style. So you know a part of that approach is, yeah, I think I owe it to the fans to give them the best me. There are many different styles and strategies to winning this game which I understand. And I’m very clear on going for the win I love to go for the win in a way that excites my fans, and excites, you know, the world, really,” he added.

And this is exactly why people can’t wait for their fight. And indeed, the fact that Rountree is a pure striker, and a hitman that he is fighting Pereira. Otherwise, Rountree is ranked #8 and coming off a suspension for (accidentally) ingesting a PED, which led to widespread criticism of Pereira-Rountree when it was first announced. But most people have really come around to the Rountree-Pereira matchup after all.

Why Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree is such an intriguing matchup

Jamahal Hill was actually one of the loudest voices criticizing the UFC for giving Rountree a title shot. And the former champ just doesn’t think Rountree has the gas tank to go five rounds with Pereira anyways. This is why Hill has predicted that there will be a knockout and Rountree will be on the wrong side of that knockout in the UFC 307 main event. But, in a testament to how intriguing the matchup is, verbose UFC analyst Chael Sonnen has predicted the opposite.

‘Uncle Chael’ has boldly claimed that Rountree will “definitely” beat ‘Poatan’. Sonnen just thinks Rountree is at his destructive best against dangerous kickboxers, especially when he is in a tight spot and taking some punishment.

Since Pereira is exactly the type of fighter Sonnen has described above, the former superstar thinks ‘Poatan’ has no chance against Pereira. The thing is, both Hill and Sonnen’s predictions are equally possible. After all, both Rountree and ‘Poatan’ are more than capable of knocking each other out. And in a striking bonanza like Pereira-Rountree, that means anything can happen, especially a knockout. What are your predictions for UFC 307? Let us know in the comments section below.