Hell Froze Over?!

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Israel Adesanya usually picks against Alex Pereira.

In fact, “The Last Stylebender” has even gone so far as to channel shaman spirits in hopes of cursing his longtime rival, who despite Adesanya’s best efforts, continues to knock out every opponent the promotion stands in front of him.

Perhaps reverse psychology will help break some of those curses.

“Just off the cuff, I’ll go Pereira because [of] momentum right now,” Adesanya said on The Adam Carolla Show. “Rountree doesn’t grapple. He likes to kickbox, he’s never gone for a takedown. If you’re going to do that with Pereira ... and I’m the only one who has ever rocked him, or stood with him in the UFC, everyone else, he’s washed. Rountree, I feel like, if he can make it dirty and catch him, he can catch him. But it’s so hard to do with Pereira because, Rountree, his reach might not be able to get to him.”

Pereira defends his 205-pound title against Khalil Rountree Jr. atop the UFC 307 pay-per-view (PPV) event, scheduled for this Sat. night (Oct. 5, 2024) inside Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Their five-round headliner is unlikely to feature any grappling (because of this).

“I’m going to go Pereira, and I’m going to go TKO or KO,” Adesanya said. “I don’t know what round, but I just feel like it’ll be hard for Rountree to get past that frame. [I can see] leg kicks, leg kicks [from Pereira], and he might catch Rountree as he comes in. Because Rountree is going to be attacking him. Paper can’t fight paper, so that’s why you’ve got to fight. But it’s a good fight and I think, again, Pereira by Round 2 or Round 3. But if Rountree does it, f*cking ridiculous.”

Pereira remains the odds-on betting favorite.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 307 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPNews at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 307: “Pereira vs. Rountree” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.