Alex Pereira’s next defence of his undisputed UFC champion light heavyweight title is set.
The Brazilian superstar will return to the Octagon on October 5th at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to defend his title for the third time.
Despite the inevitable excitement surrounding the news of Pereira’s next fight, the UFC’s choice of opponent is intriguing.
Fans are thrilled to see Pereira compete for the fourth time in less than a year, but many were taken aback by the opponent the UFC selected.
Following his victory over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303, it initially seemed that Pereira’s next challenger was all but locked in to be Russian contender Magomed Ankalaev.
However, following today’s surprise revelation by UFC president Dana White, it has been confirmed that ‘Poatan’ will face number eight-ranked light heavyweight Khalil Rountree.
Despite being on a five-fight win streak, with four of those wins coming via knockout, Rountree has defeated just one ranked opponent during that run.
His most notable triumph came against Anthony Smith who, despite being a respected figure in MMA, wouldn’t exactly be described as a top contender.
UFC has gone with an exciting stylistic match-up between Pereira and Rountree as both men are extremely talented kickboxer.
Rountree might be a puzzling selection for a title fight, but the contest should deliver plenty of action for as long as it lasts.
It would be interesting to hear what Ankalaev has to say about the fight being official, as he is the number two-ranked light heavyweight contender with strong claims to the belt.
It was reported some weeks ago that Ankalaev would face fellow rated challenger Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308 on October 26th.
