The most important second of Khalil Rountree’s skilled MMA profession is coming quickly.
In a number of weeks, Rountree (13-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) will step into the octagon for his first UFC championship combat, and he’ll achieve this towards one of the crucial harmful fighters within the historical past of the game – Alex Pereira. The 2 gentle heavyweights meet in the primary occasion of UFC 307 on Oct. 5 in Salt Lake Metropolis.
Rountree can’t await combat evening. He believes he’s on the cusp of making MMA historical past, together with Pereira (11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC).
“I actually haven’t any intention of capturing for takedowns or making an attempt to take what folks would contemplate the simple route,” Rountree advised Michael Bisping on his YouTube channel. “I’m right here to – actually, I need to placed on a combat to recollect. For me, it is a combat that I’m going to recollect for the remainder of my life. It is a second in my story that I’m going to recollect.
“I need to do the identical factor and ship the identical issues for the followers. I would like this to be a type of fights the place folks discuss for years to return. Hopefully each of us do sufficient in our careers the place this combat could make the Corridor of Fame, one thing like that. Once I take into consideration this combat, I consider one thing that’s pure leisure for the followers and for ourselves.”
Pereira is a former two-division Glory Kickboxing champion and stands immediately as one of the crucial feared strikers in MMA. Many imagine that wrestling is the trail to victory towards Pereira.
Though Rountree doesn’t disagree, he desires to stay loyal to his fashion and the kind of combating that received him to a UFC championship combat.
“It doesn’t make sense. I’m not a wrestler,” Rountree stated when requested if he was going to have a wrestling strategy. “Sure, I’m a combined martial artist, I’m in a position to do plenty of various things, my grappling is nice, my wrestling is first rate, however that’s simply not me. That’s simply not my intuition. So why would I put myself in harms solution to attempt to safe this victory when that’s simply not me. That’s simply not my fashion.”
For extra on the cardboard, go to MMA Junkie’s occasion hub for UFC 307.
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