If anyone knows what it's like to go toe-to-toe with the best version of Alex Pereira, it's Khalil Rountree Jr.
Rountree Jr. (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) faced Pereira (12-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) for the UFC light heavyweight title in his last outing at UFC 307 in October. "The War Horse" put on a spirited performance before ultimately being finished by the Brazilian in the fourth round.
Pereira went on to face Magomed Ankalaev (21-1-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) at UFC 313 this past March, losing his title to the Russian by unanimous decision. "Poatan" struggled to generate much offense during that fight and looked like a different fighter compared to the one who defeated Rountree Jr., as well as the likes of Jiří Procházka and Jamahal Hill in recent bouts.
Speaking during an appearance on MMA Today this week, Rountree Jr. suggested that Pereira didn’t seem like himself in his most recent appearance inside the Octagon.
"It was hard for me to watch that fight and to score it, you know?", Rountree Jr. responded when he was asked his opinion on how the judges had scored the fight between Pereira and Ankalaev. "It was very hard for me to watch it from the standpoint of, you know, like, analyzing because I was there, front row. And when I saw Alex walk out, I just – for some reason, I don't even know if I'm right by saying this. If this comes up and Alex, you know, explains this, then that's fine. But I just felt that the Alex that walked out that night was a different Alex that walked out the night that him and I fought. I just saw it because I was still, I know what it's like to be there in the cage.
"And then this guy's coming in there, you know, like I remember that. I remember that day every day. So when I saw him walking out for Ankalaev, I just saw like a different guy. I know that sometimes he'll take his time, he'll do the calf kicks you know, he'll kind of read the movements of the opponents but you know after the second (or) third round when i saw that he really wasn't attacking and the rest of the rest of my experience of the fight was just...I watched it in frustration you know?
"I was just like...I couldn't even really watch it. I was like 'I don't understand what's going on because it should it shouldn't be like this, it doesn't have to be like this,' you know? And so I don't know how I scored it. I just saw it and I was like kind of confused, because I was expecting the same guy that came in and fought me to go in there and do the same thing.
"I wanted to see what that experience was like from the outside, you know? Like kind of okay yeah i remember being in there like and I was like 'no it was nothing like this when I was in there, like what the heck?"
