UFC 307 was a night to remember for Khalil Rountree Jr, but despite his loss to Alex Pereira, Rountree seemed pretty happy about the fight.
Khalil Rountree Jr went up against UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira at UFC 307 in October. The fighter managed to stay four rounds in the cage with ‘Chama,’ but by the end of the fight, Rountree was left bloodied and bruised with a cut on his eyelid. Many assumed ‘The War Horse’ was disappointed with his defeat, but the fighter revealed he was quite happy about it. Despite admitting his injuries were devastating, Rountree says he loved being in the octagon with Pereira and has no regrets.
“It was a bit surreal to be standing in front of him in moments, in the face-off and stuff,” Rountree told Fight Energy Films. “But I asked for that fight from the beginning. I always knew that I wanted to fight him, so when I was there, it was just more of a thing … this is what I’ve wanted, this is what I’ve always imagined. …
“The only thing I can really remember is just being happy. Even the moment when I got finished in the fourth round, I just felt so happy throughout that whole fight. It felt like I was where I belonged. I felt like I belonged there. So it was really like living in a dream and there was nothing but happiness and excitement in those moments.”
Despite not earning the light heavyweight title, Rountree earned a lot of praise from fans and other fighters for lasting that long against Pereira, who is known for taking his opponents out within the first two rounds of the fight. UFC CEO Dana White also complimented the fighter on his performance.
“The time between now and that fight, there’s been a huge contrast of emotion,” Rountree said. “But it’s been more good than bad. I think the reflection point, I’m focused on getting better now because I want to continue to win. I want to continue to put on exciting fights. I want to continue on the path of becoming a champion. That’s still something I want to be and will work towards being.
“But it’s also nice that although I’m not a champion, I’ve got this level of respect and recognition that a champion would have. So, it’s a weird position to be in, but it’s nice. I’ve still got some work to do.”
Rountree plans on training harder and getting better moving forward. He has analyzed his weakness and where he went wrong during his battle against Pereira. He admits he has some fighting strategies to work on and plans to return to gain the title and become the world champion.
“I’d say specifically in the fight against Alex, I knew that he was a dangerous fighter, and so there was a healthy level of caution in that fight,” Rountree said. “I think that moving forward, it will be good to have caution but I see myself really being able to let loose moving forward.However, I don’t want to — I gave it all. I really did. And, I went all the way to the end, but I still think there is more of me to give. I think that, as far as my skill and intelligence goes, there’s some room there. …
“I didn’t know until now that I needed to really learn more. Obviously, no matter what, we’ve got to continue to grow, we’ve got to continue to learn, but I think this fight really put it into perspective. It really helped me to see the gap of where I want to be versus where I am. It just kind of write me up.”
Khalil Rountree entered the fight, riding a wave of momentum. Knockout wins over Anthony Smith and Chris Daukaus led to the striker’s meeting with UFC light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. However, his loss will not count as a significant setback, as he has a chance to request a rematch.
