Khalil Rountree had many people in awe after UFC 307 – especially Anderson Silva.

Rountree (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) proved to be a more than worthy opponent for light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) in Saturday’s main event in Salt Lake City, but he was ultimately overwhelmed and finished in Round 4.

Rountree was able to land on Pereira early, winning the first two rounds on all three judges’ scorecards. However, as the fight went on, Pereira found his groove and unleashed brutal combinations on Rountree, who showed incredible heart and resilience to hang in the fight.

Silva predicted that Rountree would become a champion back in 2015, and couldn’t be more proud of his former training partner’s valiant effort against Pereira.

“I could say countless things about this incredible battle between these two giants. In my opinion, the perfect world would be not seeing my brother and my friend fighting. But on the other hand, that’s how the sport is.

Alex, you were impeccable, on an incredible rise. Congratulations, my friend.

As for my little brother Khalil, I am so proud of you, my brother. Thank you so much for being part of my life. Those who know your story know who you truly are: you are a giant. You walk away from this battle as a winner because you showed that fighting at a high level is not for just anyone.

Congratulations to both of you. May GOD bless you both.

Khalil, don’t forget that only a few like us have the courage to fight the good fight. Strength and honor today and always!

Advertisement

And I couldn’t forget to mention our great (José Aldo). You are our champion! 👑 king
@khalilrountree @alexpoatanpereira @josealdojunioroficial 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾.”

Rountree was a big underdog against Pereira, and had many deeming him unworthy of a title shot prior to the fight. Despite the incredible amount of damage suffered in the fight, Rountree took solace in knowing that he can hang with the elite.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Reading have entered into a new period of exclusivity with an unnamed buyer – on the same day the club has been handed a fresh transfer embargo by the English Football League.

The stricken League One club has suffered from fines, points deductions and fan protests during Dai Yongge’s tumultuous reign as owner and had a previous transfer ban lifted in August 2023.

In a statement on the club’s website,, external Reading said the new embargo was due to “the late filing of financial accounts to Companies House, and relates to the 2022-23 accounting period”.

Reading added they believed the embargo would be lifted once the overdue accounts are finalised, which they hoped would happen “at the earliest opportunity”.

The Royals were relegated to League One in 2022-23 and have been deducted 18 points overall during Chinese businessman Dai’s tenure as owner.

A deal for former Wycombe Wanderers owner Rob Couhig to buy the club fell through last month after an agreement could not be reached.

“The club can confirm it has agreed to a period of exclusivity with a potential purchaser,” the statement added.

“Both parties are working hard to finalise terms with the intention to complete a sale at the earliest opportunity.

“This exclusivity period also includes further provision to fund the club until the transaction’s intended completion.

“The proposed sale will include Mr Dai’s shareholding in Reading Football Club Limited, as well as the Select Car Leasing Stadium and Bearwood Park Training Ground.”

Daniel Cormier thinks Julianna Pena should have addressed Kayla Harrison after UFC 307.

Peña (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) defeated Raquel Pennington (16-10 MMA, 13-6 UFC) by split decision to reclaim the bantamweight title in Saturday’s co-main event at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Earlier in the night, Harrison became No. 1 contender when she defeated Ketlen Vieira.

As Peña was speaking to Joe Rogan post fight in the octagon, a camera showed Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) listening in. But instead of mentioning Harrison’s name, Peña called for a trilogy bout with Amanda Nunes, which Cormier says was a mistake.

“I will say this: She dropped the ball on the callout,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “I mean, Kayla’s on the screen. Say her name. Why no-sell the person that is clearly going to be your No. 1 contender? There is no world where she does not fight Kayla Harrison. She’s fighting her next.

“You might as well put the sell on it right now. Don’t wait until the fight is announced. Now you’re a step behind when you had the opportunity to be a step ahead going into your fight with Kayla Harrison, who will be the No. 1 contender for your championship as we go forward.”

Harrison was tested by Vieira, who made her taste blood for the first time in her MMA career. Peña later said she wasn’t impressed with Harrison’s performance, but Cormier thinks Harrison failing to completely dominate should have encouraged Peña to build the fight.

“Tonight, it’s not like Kayla Harrison looked the best,” Cormier said. “Kayla’s looked better. Tonight, she looked like a girl that needs to get takedowns and if she doesn’t, she is still in the very early stages of her striking.

“So Julianna Peña should’ve, after this performance, been more willing to say her name. At the end of the day, she becomes the champion again and Mike Valle and his team out at Valle Flow now have two UFC champions on their roster – massive for a gym out of Chicago that isn’t a massive, huge gym.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Israel Adesanya knows as well as anyone when Alex Pereira is ready to rock.

The combat sports rivals have squared off twice in kickboxing and twice in MMA championship bouts, with Pereira winning two of those fights via knockout, and Adesanya holding bragging rights most recently when he flattened Pereira at UFC 287.

Pereira subsequently moved up to light heavyweight, where he captured a second UFC title that he has defended three consecutive times. This past Saturday at UFC 307, Pereira was taken to the limit by challenger Khalil Rountree Jr., but emerged victorious with a fourth-round finish.

As he does with most major UFC events, Adesanya uploaded video of his reaction to the main event and the rest of the main card, which can be watched below.

“If Khalil knocks him out, it would be amazing, but I think Alex is going to knock him out,” Adesanya predicted ahead of the fight.

During the contest, Adesanya broke down how Pereira’s strategy differed from previous fights, pointing out how Pereira was keeping a higher guard than usual and that Rountree would need a knockout to win after absorbing a number of debilitating leg kicks in the fight.

He also marveled at Pereira’s ability to continue pushing the pace in the championship rounds.

“Pereira doesn’t look gassed,” Adesanya said. “He recovers well. I’m telling you, he’s a f*cking demon.”

Rountree was actually up on all three judges’ scorecards heading into Round 4, but Pereira appeared to be gaining strength at the end of the third and Adesanya sensed the end was near for the challenger.

“I can feel it,” Adesanya said. “Now, it’s going to be ‘Chama’ time.”

Sure enough, Pereira closed the show with a brutal flurry of offense, hammering a resilient Rountree until he crumbled to the canvas and was saved by referee Marc Goddard.

It was yet another crowd-pleasing performance from “Poatan” and Adesanya made sure to pay him his proper respect.

“He’s got some hard fights in front of him, but he is that guy right now,” Adesanya said.

The head of women’s refereeing in England, Bibiana Steinhaus-Webb, is leaving the role to take up a position with Fifa.

The German, who is married to men’s referee boss Howard Webb, joins the world governing body as its new head of women’s refereeing.

The 45-year-old previously enjoyed a stellar career as an official and joined Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) in 2021 when the organisation took charge of officiating in the Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship.

Under her leadership the select group of officials for the women’s professional game has doubled in size.

In a statement the PGMOL said it wanted to build “on the progressive foundations” set by Steinhaus-Webb and thanked her for her “immense contribution”.