The UFC 307 event is just a few weeks away, and the fans are already in awe of the main event. Alex Pereira will be defending his title for the third time in 2024 against #8 ranked Khalil Rountree Jr. The announcement of the fight surprised many out there, including #2 ranked Magomed Ankalaev. The Dagestani fighter has been waiting to face the Brazilian for a long time now but has failed to do so.

Ankalaev will be seen next in action at UFC 308 when he takes on Aleksandar Rakic and is focused on his next target. But who is the 32-year-old supporting at UFC 307? Well, his pick might just surprise you.

Magomed Ankalaev backs Alex Pereira to win his fight against Khalil Rountree Jr.

T͏h͏e ͏͏rivalry b͏etw͏e͏en͏ P͏e͏reir͏a an͏͏d͏ Ank͏a͏l͏ae͏v bega͏n ͏͏way back in June when he defeated Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303. Following the Brazilian’s win, ͏͏Ankalaev ex͏p͏resse͏d͏ his͏͏ de͏s͏ir͏e͏ to f͏a͏ce͏ the champ as he is currently in top-notch form. However, he ͏re͏c͏eived lit͏tle͏͏͏ r͏e͏͏sp͏o͏n͏͏s͏͏͏͏͏e͏͏͏ ͏from t͏͏͏h͏͏e ͏pr͏omot͏͏ion͏ putting an end to his title shot dream. The matter further ͏w͏͏ors͏͏e͏͏n͏ed ͏wh͏en U͏F͏͏C 3͏͏0͏7 ͏was ͏hea͏dl͏i͏n͏ed by͏ a͏ ͏f͏ig͏͏͏͏h͏͏t ͏͏be͏͏tw͏ee͏͏n͏͏͏ Pereira ͏͏and Khalil Rount͏͏ree Jr. What followed was a series of online brawls between the pair which has further escalated the rivalry.

Pereira recently sat down to chat with Kevin Iole about his future in the light-heavyweight division. The Brazilian made it clear that he wants to face the Dagestani fighter and settle the score once and for all. However, there is one problem with Ankalaev’s fighting style: Pereira feels it’s boring. The Dagestani fighter took notice of the criticism and responded with a tweet on X, “Alex have 6 KO in ufc I have 6 KO He know why he’s not fighting me and Fighting the number eight guy let’s be real focus on your fight. I will do the same. We will see after if you will accept good luck, champ,”. But it seems he is willing to put aside his rivalry for once and wants the champion to defend his title at UFC 307.

Championship Rounds took to their X account to share the post of Ankalaev, which read, “@Alex Pereira good luck this weekend. I’m rooting for you. Let’s go, champ.” In an ideal situation, if Alex Pereira defends his title at UFC 307 and Ankalaev wins his fight at UFC 308, we might just see the pair clashing next. However, it seems for the first time, Alex Pereira may be walking into the fight as the second favorite, not according to fans but maybe some experts to counter that Rountree Jr. might just cause an upset.

‘The War Horse’ is currently on a dream run and is unbeaten in his last five fights. Adding to the problem, four out of his five victories have come via knockout. All these factors have forced Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping to back the 34-year-old in the fight. Well, it now seems there’s one more UFC champion who feels the challenger is the favorite for the fight.

Kamaru Usman makes bold predictions before UFC 307 fight

Since the announcement of the fight, Khalil Rountree Jr. has been the talk of the town. Experts like Bisping have termed him as the best striker Pereira has ever faced in his career. It now seems former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Umsan feels that the winning run of Pereira will be ended by Rountree Jr. Usman. To summon this prophecy, Henry Cejudo took to their ‘Pound 4 Pound’ podcast to discuss the highly anticipated clash. While Cejudo leaned towards an Alex Pereira victory, Usman seemed to disagree with him.

The former champion feels Rountree Jr. might just shock the fans and come out victorious. He said,  “But no, listen, I think I’m going to shock everybody here. I think you’re wrong. While you’re saying everyone just stands and strikes with him and they lose, I think you’re wrong. I think Khalil Rountree shocks the world.” If we look closely at Pereira’s recent record, we can see that he knocked out his last two opponents in the first and second rounds, respectively. While there have been claims about Rountree Jr.’s wrestling skills, Pereira has shown in the past that he has a sound defensive game as well. Will it be this easy to dethrone Alex Pereira from the throne?

Who do you think will win the fight at UFC 307? Let us know your picks in the comments below.