Alex Pereira will defend his UFC light heavyweight champion against Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 this weekend. Winning would help him break Ronda Rousey's record and make him the UFC champion to defend their belt three times in the shortest duration.
Pereira's rise to the top of the sport is unprecedented. He got a title shot at Israel Adesanya after just three fights in the UFC and bagged the middleweight championship by knocking out the long-time champ in the fifth.
After his only UFC loss to "The Last Stylebender", "Poatan" has continued his impressive run in the light heavyweight division. According to Daniel Cormier, fighting the Brazilian is a huge mental challenge as well, and Rountree might be already doing better than the likes of Jamahal Hill and Jiří Procházka...
Daniel Cormier Gives Khalil Rountree The Edge Over Jamahal Hill And Jiří Procházka Ahead Of UFC 307 Title Fight Against Alex Pereira
Cormier interviewed Rountree on his YouTube channel recently. When asked about the odds heavily favoring the champion, Rountree stated that people underestimate him because he doesn't talk trash and is usually respectful during interviews.
To this, Cormier couldn't help but bring up how fighters act unusual before taking on Pereira. Hill used several antics to try and get into the UFC light heavyweight kingpin's head, with DC recalling him trying to break the arrow during Pereira's walkout at UFC 300. Following the KO loss, Hill has been called out by fans for making excuses as well.
Prochazka, who's lost twice to Pereira, recently claimed that the Brazilian uses black magic and spirits to beat his opponents. For someone as stoic as the Czech fighter, these claims were called strange by many.
Rountree, according to Cormier, doesn't seem to be acting unusual leading up to his UFC 307 title fight. He's still the nice guy in interviews and isn't feeling the pressure of facing an intimidating opponent like Pereira.
That's you, right? That's you! But, the weirdest thing about Pereira and dealing with Pereira, people start to act like not themselves. So, when he was walking to the Octagon, Jamahal Hill was like reaching over the cage like come on! He's like very animated. Jiří Procházka is just doing all kind of weird s**t. Jiri doing all kind of crazy s**t up in there. He's doing this, he's doing.. Jiri's just not acting like himself, right?