The headliner for UFC 307, features Alex Pereira trying to defend his light heavyweight championship title against Khalil Rountree Jr. This clash has kept the entire world of mixed martial arts on the edge. It looks like the credit for pure entertainment could truly go to ‘The War Horse’ for ensuring the fans stay entertained throughout the bout. But how does he plan to do that? Well, for starters, he promised to stick to striking.

‘Poatan’ is a name that has been intimidating combat sports athletes for about 4 years now. He has dominated the Octagon with his impeccable kickboxing prowess. Needless to say, this strength has pushed him to become a champion in two different weight categories in the UFC. But the Brazilian tends to face a bit of trouble when it comes to wrestling. Any other fighter competing against Pereira would choose to exploit the champion’s shortcomings. But Rountree isn’t just any other fighter!

Khalil Rountree promises to entertain fight fans in bout against Alex Pereira

During the pre-fight press conference for UFC 307, a reporter pointed out that Rountree had more experience than his opponent. Although both their fighting experience revolves around striking, Rountree seemingly has the edge over ‘Poatan’ in the ground control arena. This made the fighting community wonder if he would deploy his experience in grappling in the fight. This wasn’t something that the light heavyweight #8 hadn’t already talked about. This time, he promised to stick to his words. And it was all for the fans.

Khalil Rountree Jr. answered, “The main thing that I was trying to say is that I’ve worked myself hard enough to get to this point till now. It would not make sense to switch who I am as a fighter to completely switch the game plan just to secure a win. The main reason I’ve always wanted this fight really is for the fans. You got 2 of the best strikers in the world going at it. And that’s what I wanna give the fans. That’s what I wanna give you guys.” 

Alex Pereira has previously spoken about the sport, where he pointed out that anything can happen during a fight. Regardless of the chance for a sweet victory, Rountree has refused to use grappling in the bout. He continued, “But what I’m trying to make sure is that everybody knows, is that when I step in there, you get to expect the best version of me. And the best version of me is not someone who switches my plan and then out of nowhere in my career, decides to become a wrestler. So that’s kind of like, I’m just trying to make that point clear.”

Even though ‘The War Horse’ announced his plans for UFC 307, his coach seemed to believe that the fight would feature high-quality wrestling. So, was the LHW #8  making false claims during his interview with Michael Bisping and at the pre-fight press conference? Let’s find out!

Rountree’s coach assures ‘Olympic-level wrestling’ at UFC 307

A day before the press conference, John Wood provided the MMA realm with an exciting piece of update for Rountree vs. Pereira. Talking to ‘Inside Fighting’, he explained that one of the easiest ways for Rountree to win against Pereira was to use wrestling. He said, “Man I think you are gonna see the best wrestling match that anybody has ever seen. This guy is gonna go out there and shoot double legs like you have never seen being shot before. And it’s gonna be Olympic-level wrestling.”

But ‘Poatan’ has made himself ready. During a conversation with the Schmo, Sean Strickland provided some reassurance to the fight fans regarding Pereira’s grappling skills. The Brazilian knows where his flaws lie and has worked hard to turn those flaws into his strengths. Fighting Israel Adesanya became easy because he hailed from the land of kickboxing, as well. But Rountree is a different kind of fighter. Despite that, ‘Tarzan’ claimed that Rountree simply wasn’t that good at wrestling. Now all that remains is the showdown between two exceptional strikers.

What are your thoughts about Rountree’s promise? Do you think it would have been better if he planned on becoming a wrestler for the bout against Pereira? Or is it just a battle strategy? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.