[autotag]John Wood[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] will resort to wrestling [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] at some point during UFC 307.
Rountree (13-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) challenges light heavyweight champion Pereira (11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in the Oct. 5 main event from Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
Rountree vowed not to wrestle the former two-division Glory Kickboxing champion to find success. His head coach Wood doubled down on that promise, and went as far as saying it’ll be Pereira needing to change up his game plan.
“I believe, honestly, my gut, I think Pereira shoots on Khalil,” Wood told ESPN. “I think he’s the one that breaks game first and shoots on Khalil to try to get that takedown, because that’s actually something he’s done. I mean, we ain’t shooting over here, I can tell you that.
“Khalil can – it’s not like we don’t train MMA, wrestling, wrestling defense, all these things. … I think Alex shoots first, but yes, I would be shocked if this fight goes five rounds. Someone is going out on their shield. It’s going to happen, and obviously I think I know who it is.”
According to DraftKings, Rountree is a +350 underdog against Pereira, who’s a -455 favorite to retain his title. Pereira is coming off knockouts of Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka in the past six months. Rountree made it five straight wins when he knocked out former title challenger Anthony Smith in his most recent appearance in December 2023.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.