Alex Pereira wants Khalil Rountree to put his money where his mouth is.
Pereira will face Rountree for the light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 307 on Saturday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Rountree’s victory over Magomed Ankalaev for the title came as a surprise to many, including Pereira.
But “War Horse” has consistently defended his gold medal win as a fan-friendly clash of styles. Both Pereira and Rountree, both proven knockout artists, have a total of one takedown attempt in their UFC careers. And Rountree promises that won’t change come Saturday night.
UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr. Saturday at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN+. Order now!
But unless Rountree makes a bet, Pereira isn’t buying it. The former GLORY kickboxing champion made the same promise to his former opponents, but failed to deliver on it. “Poitin” publicly promised Rountree that if he went for a takedown, he would donate a portion of his UFC 307 fight funds to charity.
“Honestly, everyone who has ever said that, [ended up] shoot a takedown [him]” Pereira recently told Kevin Ior through an interpreter. “That’s why I don’t believe it. The only way he believes it. [that is] If Khalil went out in public and said, “I promise I won’t shoot a takedown on this guy.” If so, I will donate a portion of my wallet to charity. “after that [I] Believing it’s a KO, let’s hit. ”
Pereira has won nine of his 11 career wins by knockout or technical knockout, including six in the UFC. Meanwhile, Rountree has won nine of his 13 career wins, including four on a current five-game win streak.
