The biggest moment of Khalil Rountree’s professional MMA career is coming soon.
In a few weeks, Rountree (13-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) will step into the octagon for his first UFC championship fight, and he’ll do so against one of the most dangerous fighters in the history of the sport – Alex Pereira. The two light heavyweights meet in the main event of UFC 307 on Oct. 5 in Salt Lake City.
Rountree can’t wait for fight night. He believes he’s on the cusp of creating MMA history, along with Pereira (11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC).
“I literally have no intention of shooting for takedowns or trying to take what people would consider the easy route,” Rountree told Michael Bisping on his YouTube channel. “I’m here to – honestly, I want to put on a fight to remember. For me, this is a fight that I’m going to remember for the rest of my life. This is a moment in my story that I’m going to remember.
“I want to do the same thing and deliver the same things for the fans. I want this to be one of those fights where people talk about for years to come. Hopefully both of us do enough in our careers where this fight can make the Hall of Fame, something like that. When I think about this fight, I think of something that’s pure entertainment for the fans and for ourselves.”
Pereira is a former two-division Glory Kickboxing champion and stands today as one of the most feared strikers in MMA. Many believe that wrestling is the path to victory against Pereira.
Although Rountree doesn’t disagree, he wants to remain loyal to his style and the type of fighting that got him to a UFC championship fight.
“It doesn’t make sense. I’m not a wrestler,” Rountree said when asked if he was going to have a wrestling approach. “Yes, I’m a mixed martial artist, I’m able to do a lot of different things, my grappling is good, my wrestling is decent, but that’s just not me. That’s just not my instinct. So why would I put myself in harms way to try to secure this victory when that’s just not me. That’s just not my style.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.
