Israel Adesanya has revealed his pick for Saturday’s light heavyweight championship headliner in Salt Lake City.
205-pound titleholder Alex Pereira returns to the Octagon set to defend his belt for the third time in 2024 following back-to-back knockouts of Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka in his last two outings. This time, ‘Poatan’ will be tasked with taking out another heavy hitter in the division—Khalil Rountree.
As it stands, oddsmakers have Pereira overwhelmingly favored to come out on top by a margin of 5-to-1. However, pundits are seemingly split with many of them believing that ‘The War Horse’ will deliver another epic upset in The Crossroads of the West.
However, ‘The Last Stylebender’ is riding with the man he knows best inside the ring and the Octagon.
“I’m gonna go Alex Pereira by second-round finish,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “And look, if Khalil does it, it would f*cking shock the world, but it would be like, someone else has done it so they can f*cking get off my d*ck. My story with him is over, but people are like, ‘It’s still 3-1, dammit.’
“I think it’s a hard ask of Khalil, but it’s up to him. It’s his fight to win or lose, but I think ‘Poatan’ is just on a f*cking tear right now. He’s too good.”
⚡️Israel Adesanya picks Alex Pereira to knock out Khalil Rountree and hopes Pereira will retire at the top of the game
"I hope he [Alex Pereira] will retire undefeated [for the rest of his career]. It's just gonna be like, 'I beat that n**** one time.'"😂
🎥 YT @stylebender ▫️ pic.twitter.com/efU5D4BpvC
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) October 2, 2024
Thus far, Adesanya is 0-4 when picking a winner in Pereira’s fights—the biggest problem being that until now, he’s always picked ‘Poatan’ to lose. Is Adesanya trying to jinx Pereira, or is the ‘Stylebender’ finally giving some props to the man who’s beaten him three times in four career meetings?
Israel Adesanya Was Surprised to See Khalil Rountree Score His First UFC Title Opportunity
Like many, Adesanya was surprised when UFC CEO Dana White announced that Khalil Rountree would be the next man up for Alex Pereira. Still, the ‘Stylebender’ is undeniably excited about the level of violence that Pereira and ‘The War Horse’ are sure to deliver.
“I was surprised this fight was even made,” Adesanya admitted. “I thought Ankalaev vs. Pereira would be the next one because they’ve been barking at each other through the fence, but this is it. Top 10. Anyone in the top 10 can get a shot at any time and now you’ve got No. 8 Rountree fighting Pereira—the champ. At first, I was like, ‘The f*ck?!’ like most people, but now I’m actually excited for the fight because of what Khalil brings.
“Khalil is just a chill dude who’s violent as f*ck. His story is crazy as well. I always like crowning moments. I saw the video of Merab around Georgia—that’s cool because I know what it feels like and it would be cool to see Rountree do something like that, but he’s fighting Alex right now and Alex is on a tear. He’s got massive momentum and he’s seemingly unstoppable.”
Watch the full video below:
