Ketlen Vieira faces off with Kayla Harrison | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Ketlen Vieira has a point to prove at UFC 307.
The UFC veteran once again enters a fight looking to earn a shot at the bantamweight title with a victory, and feels it may finally come if she beats two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison this Saturday in Salt Lake City, especially with all the hype surrounding the former PFL champion.
“I think she underestimates me,” Vieira said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “When she says she’s better than me in all areas, she’s underestimating me. She’s a very good athlete, she’s a Olympic medalist for a reason, but she’s not better than me in everything because she’s completely dependent on taking the fight to the ground. We haven’t seen her trade on the feet for three rounds. Maybe she can do that in the future, but I don’t see that right now.”
Harrison said during the UFC 307 media day on Wednesday she believes she “can beat all three girls in the same night,” referring to her upcoming opponent and both UFC 307 co-headliners, Raquel Pennington and Julianna Peña.
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Harrison has only fought once inside the octagon, dominating and finishing Holm with a rear-naked choke. Vieira also holds a win over Holm, as well as Miesha Tate, Cat Zingano and Sara McMann.
“I’m used to this already,” Vieira said. “People always say I’m the underdog and I’m still here, beating the best. I’ve been here many times before. When I fought McMann the winner would fight for the belt, and I won. When I fought Cat Zingano, who was the only woman to beat Amanda [Nunes in the UFC], the winner would go for the belt, and I won. I beat two other ex-champions, Miesha and Holly. I’m used to big fights. People have short memory and continue to underestimate me.”
Vieira sees the Harrison clash as a “semifinal” to determine the next contender in the 135-pound division, and expects Pennington to successfully defend her throne Saturday against Peña.
“It’s a great fight for me,” Vieira said of Harrison. “I’m more complete than Kayla, I have more tools. I have good ground game and good judo as well. You can’t learn to defend judo takedowns in judo, but that’s something I’ve done my entire life. And I’m also evolving on the feet. I’m getting more complete every day. If I have to grapple with her, I will. If I have to trade with her, I will. She can’t do the same because she completely dependent on her ground game.”
Khalil Rountree may not have the credentials to match Alex Pereira when it comes to career accomplishments, but it doesn’t make him any less dangerous when they start trading bombs at UFC 307.
Ever since he first started doing MMA, Rountree’s wins were usually defined by highlight-reel knockouts, and he’s never feared trading strikes with anybody. That included his 2018 fight against Gokhan Saki, who was one of the most credentialed kickboxers to ever set foot in the UFC octagon, and Rountree needed just over 90 seconds to send him to the shadow realm.
Rountree’s longtime head coach John Wood says the vibes are feeling awfully similar ahead of a showdown against Pereira this weekend.
“When the Gokhan Saki fight happened for Khalil, he was just amped,” Wood told MMA Fighting. “There was no hesitation. Same thing with this. We’re going to take it the same way. He’s going to shock a lot of people.
“I believe Khalil can stand with anybody in the world. He’s got that level of talent when it comes to striking.”
Now just because Wood has full confidence in Rountree’s ability to end the fight with strikes, he’s not looking at Pereira as an easy opponent by any stretch of the imagination.
Since moving to light heavyweight, Pereira has gone undefeated and delivered three consecutive knockouts over two former UFC champions in Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill. Pereira is widely considered the most lethal striker in the sport, and Wood fully acknowledges that has to be respected.
“Pereira, we all know what he’s done and doing,” Wood said. “He is the legit boogeyman in the UFC right now. It’s the kind of stuff that gets me going in the morning. I love it.
“There’s no doubt Alex is the best in the world at that division. The guy is as scary as they come. He’s got the power. He’s got the death touch. He’s got everything going for him right now, the hype, it’s not an easy task. I have a lot of respect for the guy for what he does. But with that being said, he’s never fought somebody like Khalil.”
When it comes to the potential exchanges on the feet, Wood believes there are absolutely areas where Rountree can put a hurting on Pereira where other opponents have failed.
“[Alex Pereira has] never fought somebody who has the power, the speed, the vision, the timing that Khalil has,” Wood said. “Khalil — I’m not going to say he’s better than Alex but he’s better at certain things.
“Alex is really good at doing what he does and it doesn’t always look pretty. As a coach, you could easily get caught up and say all of his stuff is technically wrong. He does that at the highest level. He does a lot of his shit to bring you in, to draw you in to think you can get there and then knocks you out. Khalil can do all that, just a lot sharper.”
Because so much attention has been paid to the striking exchanges, Wood quickly points out that it’s an MMA fight and anything can happen. That means the team at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas is getting Rountree ready for everything — including a possible takedown attempt from Pereira.
“Try to take him down,” Wood said. “It’s going to be tough and you’re probably going to get clipped doing it. We’re ready for all facets. I talked to him today [and told him] you might clip Alex and he might want to turn this into a wrestling match. We’re going to be ready for everything.”
No matter how it plays out, Wood doesn’t see any world where Rountree and Pereira go for the full five rounds. The high chances that this fight ends in violent fashion had to at least play some part in the UFC’s matchmaking.
Wood wouldn’t offer an exact prediction but he expects Rountree to win and put Pereira away to do it.
“I will not be surprised at all when this fight ends early and Khalil has that belt wrapped around his waist,” Wood said. “If you know and people that have followed, Khalil is another one of those guys really coming into his MMA game, really coming into his own as a fighter the last couple of fights. I do not see this fight going five rounds. There’s no humanly possible way that happens and I do not see Khalil losing.
“I think somebody is going out and I don’t think it’s going to be us and that’s with all due respect to Pereira and his team. He’s got a legendary coach. He’s a legend in his own right. It’s an honor to coach against these guys. Obviously, I’ve got a live dog in this fight and I think that we’re going to get it. There’s no doubt in my mind that Khalil leaves that cage with the belt.”
Of course, Rountree has dealt with some criticism that he didn’t earn this opportunity and there were more deserving contenders out there. He’s largely brushed that off and stayed focused on the task at hand, which is beating Pereira on Saturday.
His coach said much the same but promised if there’s any question about whether or not Rountree belongs in the same cage as Pereira, he’ll give an emphatic answer on Saturday.
“I think you’re going to see the best Khalil Rountree that you’ve ever seen,” Wood said. “That is a scary, scary man.”
MMA Fighting has a live stream watch party for Saturday’s UFC 307 event, which takes place at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. In the main event, Alex Pereira puts the UFC light heavyweight title for the third time this year against Khalil Rountree.
Join MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, Jed Meshew, and other special guests to watch along with UFC 307 as the main card happens.
In the co-main event, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington puts her belt on the line for the first time against former champ, and fellow cast member from season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter Julianna Peña.
UFC 307 also includes a bantamweight tilt between former featherweight champion José Aldo and Mario Bautista, along with a middleweight bout between Roman Dolidze and Kevin Holland.
Kayla Harrison looks to punch her ticket to a women’s 135-pound title shot when she faces Ketlen Vieira in the main card opener.
Watch MMA Fighting’s UFC 307 Watch Party beginning at 9:45 p.m. ET / 6:45 p.m. PT.
Conor McGregor is ultimately rolling with Alex Pereira later tonight (Sat., Oct. 5, 2024) at UFC 307 live on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, but “Notorious” is cautioning the UFC light heavyweight champion about the “major danger” of fighting someone like Khalil Rountree Jr.
Later tonight, Pereira will put his 205-pound title on the line for the third-straight time. He’s been the most active champion over the past year and has quickly become one of the most popular and marketable fighters on the entire roster. Another victory this weekend at UFC 307 will catapult “Poatan” to even greater heights as 2024 comes to a close.
While Pereira is a big favorite to take care of business this weekend in Salt Lake City and retain his title, McGregor believes his main event fight against Rountree will be much closer than people think. McGregor is picking Pereira to win, but he has warned the UFC champion about the potential dangers of a no-nonsense challenger like Rountree.
If Pereira is able to take out Rountree at UFC 307 and extend his title-fight win streak to four then McGregor would like to see “Poatan” challenge Jon Jones next at heavyweight. It would be a chance for Pereira to win his third UFC title and is undoubtedly one of the biggest matchups to make in the sport right now.
Check out McGregor’s comments below (which have since been deleted):
Conor McGregor is leaning towards Alex Pereira getting the win tomorrow night at #UFC307, and says he wants to see Alex Pereira vs Jon Jones
“I lean Pereira, on form, big, accurate, powerful. But Khalil has characteristics that could cause major danger!…
[Alex] vs Jones… pic.twitter.com/u4693onqzg
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 4, 2024
“A lot of unanswered question still about Khalil but he is a nasty operator for sure. Pereira looked slightly drawn also on the scale. It’s either mans to win imo. I lean Pereira, on form, big, accurate, powerful. But Kalil has characteristics that could cause major danger! Man, it’s a tough one. Something tells me this will be a test! Pereira is just about ready for heavyweight now imo. Him Vs Jones would be amazing to watch! A chance to go 3 weight. Could be spoiled tomorrow night however, don’t be surprised. Let’s go!
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 at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPNN/ESPN+at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 307: “Pereira vs. Rountree Jr.” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 307 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.
Finally getting this poster up. I bought it in the early 2000s from a memorabilia page. It’s been in a tube for 20+ years waiting for me to stop moving long enough to display it.
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