We are now just one sleep away from the light heavyweight showdown that fans have been wanting to see for a long time.
The UFC’s 205-pound champion has become one of the biggest stars in the sport with so many exciting opportunities for Alex Pereira.
During his title reign, there has been a consistent challenger chasing him down with Magomed Ankalaev calling Pereira out time and time again.
The two men will meet in the main event of UFC 313 on March 8 where a lot of people are split on who leaves the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with the gold.
Though Ankalaev is seen to be the champion’s toughest test to date, a lot of predictions have Pereira making a statement performance.
Khalil Rountree says that Alex Pereira vs Magomed Ankalaev is a coin toss
Of the three men to face Alex Pereira in light heavyweight title fights, the opponent that did the best was the one that came in as a big underdog.
Khalil Rountree was up against it at UFC 307 but his recent run of highlight reel knockouts promised an explosive showdown between two incredibly dangerous gunslingers.
The challenger certainly had his moments but once the fight hit the championship rounds, ‘Poatan’ started to completely dominate and he picked his opponent apart before putting him away.
Rountree recently joined the UFC’s morning weigh-in show where he was asked to give his thoughts on the matchup.
The former title challenger stated that whilst it’s clear that Ankalaev is a worthy challenger, he also doesn’t think that we’ve seen the best of Pereira yet.
With that in mind, Rountree believes that the matchup could go either way once the cage door closes on March 8.
“In my opinion, it’s really just like a toss up. I’m hoping that Alex wins because eventually I’d like a rematch and that would be cool and that’s what I’m working towards but to be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ankalaev got the win.”
Khalil Rountree expects Magomed Ankalaev to wrestle Alex Pereira
Across a lot of the pre-fight predicitions, a big talking point is whether Magomed Ankalaev will rely on his grappling to win this fight.
We haven’t seen the challenger extensively use this skillset but it would appear to be his most logical route to victory.
Despite Ankalaev’s comments on knocking Pereira out, Khalil Rountree does think that the Russian will try to wrestle ‘Poatan’ and having been in there with the champ, he doesn’t expect the striking to be closely contested.
“From what I’ve seen in the striking perspective, I don’t see them matching up equally in that department. We haven’t seen much of the wrestling but we do know that he’s a strong guy. We know that he’s a tough guy so maybe this is the fight where he really brings it out and then that’s why I’m saying I wouldn’t be surprised.”