Khalil Rountree Jr.'s coach vows to make "The Boogeyman" Alex Pereira wrestle at UFC 307: "If a takedown happens, it ain't coming from our side"
Khalil Rountree Jr. coach recently discussed his pupil's title matchup with Alex Pereira at UFC 307. He laughed off the idea that the American challenger would try to take the Brazilian down, but if it did happen, Pereira would be the one to pull the trigger.
Many assumed that Magomed Ankalaev was next in line for the UFC gold after he and Pereira traded barbs on social media. However, the promotion went on to book 'Poatan' against Rountree Jr., who is six positions behind Ankalaev in the middleweight rankings.
In a recent interview with Daniel Cormier on his YouTube channel, Rountree Jr.'s coach John Wood discussed their strategy for the Pereira fight. Wood disclosed that even though they had been practicing takedown defenses, the 37-year-old would resort to wrestling first amongst the two. He said:
''We're fighting the boogeyman, he's [Pereira] the scariest dude out in MMA right now and he's gonna hold that title for the next couple weeks before there's new scariest dude in MMA.''
Wood added:
''You're not gonna find a tape of a takedown of Khalil shooting takedowns...we do MMA, we don't just train to go and expect this or this that, we're always defending takedowns, shooting out own takedowns, we’re doing everything everyday but I do stand and say that if a takedown happens, it ain’t coming from our side, it’s coming from that side.''
Check out John Wood's comments below (17:25):
Even though Pereira is among the most lethal strikers in MMA history, Rountree Jr. has no intention of testing the reigning champion's ground game. The No.8-ranked light heavyweight contender disclosed to Michael Bisping last month that he will not be aiming for takedowns in their title fight next month.
Pereira successfully defended his middleweight title for the second time, defeating Jiri Prochazka via knockout at UFC 303. Meanwhile, Rountree Jr. is coming off a third-round TKO win over Anthony Smith at UFC Vegas 83.
Jamahal Hill discusses one aspect of Khalil Rountree Jr. that could trouble Alex Pereira
During a recent appearance on Aljamain Sterling's podcast The Weekly Scraps, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill discussed the Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. fight at UFC 307.
Hill hinted that Khalil Rountree Jr.'s southpaw stance presents Pereira with a number of threats, stating:
''The things that Khalil has going for him is -- one, he's a southpaw. Two, and he has valuable threats from southpaw. If you actually look at even his [Pereira's] kickboxing career and all that, southpaws and southpaw is a stance that gives him trouble. Can he beat southpaws? Yes. But I haven't seen him really dominate a southpaw that has multiple threats from southpaw."
Check out Jamahal Hill's comments below (43:12):