This weekend at UFC 307, Khalil Rountree is stepping into the octagon to challenge Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight title, marking his first shot at UFC gold. What’s fascinating is that many fans and analysts believed this title shot was meant for Magomed Ankalaev, so when Rountree received the call, he felt it was nothing short of divine intervention.
“It felt like a call from God,” Rountree said, reflecting on the unexpected opportunity.
With the stakes higher than ever, Rountree is ready to prove he belongs in the title conversation and show everyone that he can take down the formidable champion, Pereira.
Ahead of arguably the biggest fight of his life, Rountree sat down with Megan Olivi to dive deeper into his thoughts and feelings. During their conversation, Olivi asked Rountree what he felt like when he got the call. The 34-year-old said,
“When I got a call for this fight specifically, it was like a phone call from god. It came at the right time. It came at a very unexpected time. But I was prepared for it, I’ve been preparing for this.”
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Olivi then asked Rountree what he was doing when he got the call. ‘The War Horse’ said that when he got the call, he was in the middle of a legal battle with a company and was in his lawyer’s office. Therefore, he was not having a good day when he got a call from the UFC and that changed his mood around.
Rountree did not believe it at first but when a UFC matchmaker called him a second time to congratulate him, only then it truy sunk in. Maeawhile a lot of people are writing Rountree off, former champion Kamaru Usman has a different idea of how the fight will play out.
Usman pulls for Rountree upset
Khalil Rountree is gearing up to challenge Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 307 this Saturday in Salt Lake City, and it’s definitely a matchup that surprised a lot of people. Pereira enters as a solid betting favorite, but the former welterweight champion, Usman believes Rountree is a serious threat.
“I’m about to shock everyone,” Usman said on his Pound-4-Pound podcast.
“Khalil Rountree could pull off a major upset. Crazy things happen in Utah, and Khalil is explosive with incredible Muay Thai skills. He can definitely find Pereira’s chin.”
Usman acknowledged that Rountree’s pacing could be a concern, especially if the fight goes past the second round, but he insists that in those early rounds, Rountree is just as dangerous as anyone Pereira has faced.
Coming off a KO win over Anthony ‘Lionheart’ Smith, Rountree is riding a five-fight winning streak, and fans are eager to see if he can deliver the upset!
