The hype for UFC 307 headlining Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree is steadily rising as the event approaches. Although it is also being called a mismatch because of rankings, the possibility of witnessing a huge upset has many fans on the edge of their seats.
Underdogs have performed significantly well against UFC champions lately. Be it Leon Edwards against Kamaru Usman, Belal Muhammad against Edwards, or Sean Strickland against Israel Adesanya, there are plenty of recent examples where viewers were shocked by how a fight played out.
To pull off an upset at UFC 307, Rountree will likely have to deal with Pereira’s leg kicks that have troubled all his past opponents. According to Max Holloway, here’s how the title challenger will avoid getting his legs compromised by the champion…
Max Holloway Claims Khalil Rountree Has The Tools To Stop Alex Pereira’s Leg Kicks At UFC 307
Holloway discussed the UFC 307 main event on his YouTube channel recently. “Blessed” believes the Brazilian to be an unstoppable force at light heavyweight and is curious to see whether the latter can break Ronda Rousey’s record for the shortest time between three UFC title defenses.
Despite understanding why “Poatan” is a huge favorite, Holloway pointed out that the UFC 307 main event could be a much closer fight than it seems. Rountree’s losses to Ion Cuțelaba and Johnny Walker have naturally hurt his brand, but Holloway still considers him a threat.
“We saw Khalil Rountree. We saw his ups and downs, his losses. He did lose to some guys that he should have probably never lost to but this, this mother sucker brother, he’s an animal bro. He’s just violence bro. And these two guys is just going to be, it’s going to be a violent fight bro. The biggest question is, it’s going to be, I already know what Khalil is going to do. I tell you guys this much, Khalil Rountree is going to try and stop Alex’s leg kick with that front, like, oblique kick. I’m telling you, the one that he’s done, stomped that guy’s knee out of his socket.”
While predicting the fight to be violent, Holloway mentioned Rountree’s ability to throw dangerous oblique kicks. “The War Horse” started his ongoing five-fight win streak in the UFC by breaking Modestas Bukauskas’ knee with a perfectly executed oblique kick. The fight had to be stopped instantly as it was evident Bukauskas had a displaced knee.
The former UFC featherweight champion believes that such perfectly timed oblique kicks could be game-changing for Rountree at UFC 307. Jon Jones has popularized this controversial yet effective move over the years. The light heavyweight GOAT has bothered most of his opponents with it, including Quinton Jackson, Alexander Gustafsson, and Thiago Santos.
Will Rountree surprise Pereira with the kickboxing tools in his arsenal or “Poatan” knock out the challenger cold with ease yet again at UFC 307?
