Chael Sonnen has a bold take regarding Alex Pereira’s next title defense.
Pereira (11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) defends his light heavyweight title against Khalil Rountree (13-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) in the UFC 307 headliner Oct. 5 at Salt Lake City.
Many think Rountree is undeserving of the title shot, and see Magomed Ankalaev as the more worthy No. 1 contender. Sonnen on the other hand sees Rountree as a bad matchup for Pereira.
“First off, let me give you the hot take of the day: Khalil Rountree is going to walk through Pereira,” Sonnen said on “Good Guy/Bad Guy” alongside Daniel Cormier. “That is the worst matchup I could think of. This is ‘Smackdown’ invading ‘Raw,’ and let me explain. When we think of who’s going to go fight for a title on pay-per-view, we think of other guys who have won a whole bunch of fights on pay-per-view. Well, Khalil was from Smackdown. He came from the other show.
“He’s been fighting on the Fight Nights and at the (UFC) Apex and things like this. He’s still won (five) in a row, he stopped (four) of those sons of a guns, and one of them is a former No. 1 contender, our good friend (Anthony) ‘Lionheart’ (Smith). … I will tell you this because I don’t know how familiar you are or the rest of the fans are with Khalil, but he does his absolute best work when he’s being attacked by a kickboxer. It’s not Khalil swarming somebody or taking them down or submitting them. He is a counter fighter, and he loves when you punch or kick at him first.”
Sonnen acknowledges Pereira’s aura, comparing him to other legendary fighters that were able to intimidate their opponents prior to the fight even starting.
Sonnen doesn’t see that happening to Rountree though.
“Mike Tyson used to make guys quit in the back, Cain Velasquez would have guys wilt in the back. Anderson Silva would make guys wilt in the back as they were so scared of what was going to happen. Pereira is entering that territory,” Sonnen said. “Rountree is the wrong matchup.
“All those scary punches and kicks that Pereira does, that’s where Rountree does his finest work. This is a massive disaster for anybody that thinks the UFC is trying to protect Alex. If they’re trying to protect Alex, somebody just made a big mistake.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.
