Former light heavyweight challengers Khalil Rountree Jr. and Jiri Prochazka went to war in the Octagon as both fighters went toe-to-toe on the main card.
Prochazka came out swinging with wild exchanges and long strides. Rountree kept the fight at a controlled pace and landed more accurate shots, but Prochazka kept pressing forward, connecting with devastating strikes that left Rountree struggling to survive the first round. He continued the pressure until a heavy left hand sent Rountree face-first onto the canvas in the third round.
Following his defeat, Khalil Rountree Jr. is keeping his head high despite the setback.
“Close. So close,” Rountree wrote on Instagram. “I’m OK, I’m in good spirits,” he continued. “I’m grateful for every positive message and every comment expressing support for what I give to this sport.
“To say I’ll be back is an understatement. Never stop living! Never stop fighting the good fight, for yourself, for your families, for humanity till the end.
“Losses hurt, not only me, but also my coaches, family, friends, and supporters. You guys are incredible!
“@ufc, nothing but appreciation for the platform and all of the staff that make it happen for us.
“I’m here for a while. You’ll all see me in there again next year, and win, lose, or draw, I’ll always fight until the last drop [of blood],” Rountree added.
“This loss isn’t easy. It’ll take time to heal and learn from this, but I promise you when I say that I’ll never be the same again. See you in 2026,” he said.
Prochazka, on the other hand, felt glorious following his win and used the opportunity to call out the winner of the UFC 320 main event between Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira.
“Maybe I need to be [in] a lot of chaos, and there I will find the calm and the way to win,” Prochazka said. “It was a lot. I need a really dangerous opponent where I will feel the knockout from the first second so I will start 100 percent. I believe that next one will be one of these two who are fighting for the title.
“I already offered Carlos Ulberg to fight, he turned me down to fight [Dominick] Reyes. Believe me or not, my opponent makes my performance, and I believe that the next one will be one of these two headlining tonight for the title. My performance will be the best.”
