UFC 307 Technical Preview: Another stylistic layup for Alex Pereira?

Khalil Rountree isn't likely to test the still nascent grappling skills of Pereira, but is there anything he can do on the feet to trouble the Brazilian kickboxer?

Art by Chris Rini

Returning the Favor

Alex Pereira is defending his light heavyweight title for the third time in six months, which is a level of activity rarely seen at the championship level. Jon Jones managed to rack up his first four title defenses within twelve months of becoming a champion, but that was over a decade ago.

Even more importantly to the UFC, Pereira has stepped in yet again to save them from poorly managing their own schedule. He filled in for the main event slot of UFC 300 when the UFC couldn’t manage to materialize a more compelling headliner, he saved UFC 303 when Conor McGregor predictably pulled out, and now he’s carrying UFC 307 on his back.

This event went without a main event until the middle of August as the UFC failed to find any other champions willing and able to help them fulfill their contractual obligations to ESPN.

In return for being the ultimate company man as well as building himself into one of the few fighters on their roster who can attract casual audiences, the UFC has rewarded Pereira with some very favorable matchmaking.

They made the very transparent decision to protect one of their precious few stars from a much more deserving and dangerous contender in Magomed Ankalaev, who is booked to fight just three weeks after UFC 307. Instead, they gave the title shot to Khalil Rountree, who is ranked a full seven spots below Ankalaev and who is much less likely to exploit Pereira’s still underdeveloped grappling game.

To drive home the ridiculousness of giving Rountree a title shot over Ankalaev, note that Rountree’s last three losses to Marcin Prachnio, Ion Cutelaba, and Johnny Walker are names that all show up as wins in Ankalaev’s twelve fight unbeaten streak.

But regardless of how we got here and even if Rountree is a far less dangerous matchup on paper, it’s still worth doing our best to understand what the underdog brings to the table.