On Saturday night, Khalil Rountree gets his chance to stamp his name in the history books.

The 34-year-old Californian, who is in the midst of the longest winning streak of his professional career, will test his Muay Thai skills against the outstanding kickboxing of UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, and knows that he stands on the verge of an underdog title win that would rank alongside any other in UFC history.

It will easier said than done, however. ‘Poatan’ has been near flawless in his UFC career to this point, even if the likes of Israel Adesanya and even his compatriot Bruno Silva back in the day have shown that there are chinks in the Brazilian’s armour should the correct type of pressure be applied.

Rountree, winner of five straight fights (with four of those finishes inside the distance), has history taking on world class strikers. In the summer of 2018, he faced another fighter who, like Pereira, previously held the Glory (kickboxing) light heavyweight title in Gokhan Saki — a fight Rountree won inside two minutes of the first round.

And should he repeat that this weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah he will establish himself as an unlikely champion in one of the UFC’s most talent-rich divisions.

Check out the full press conference below:

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