Fighting heart has a new face and it's former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. Last weekend at UFC 307, 'The War Horse' put on a gutsy performance against his division's violent ruler, Alex Pereira, despite getting stopped in the fourth round.
In doing so, however, Rountree was able to put 'Poatan' in more danger than any of the men who challenged the Brazilian for the title so far.
Just days after getting beaten from pillar to post by Pereira, Khalil Rountree Jr. already made first first public appearance in an episode of Pound 4 Pound podcast. Speaking to Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, Rountree's entire face was nearly covered by gauze and bandages.
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While some saw the American striker winning at least the first two rounds of the bout, it was evident that Pereira took over from round three onwards. Speaking on Pereira's exceptional fight IQ that led him to snag the TKO win, Rountree said:
"I think one thing that is pretty underrated and [that] I got to experience for myself, is really his [fight] IQ man. The ability to mix up, you know, the strategy mid-fight and in-between rounds because...he just kept making adjustments. And I think he made really smart adjustments...I'd say the biggest surprise for me was the intelligence, as stoic as he is and kind of stone-faced, I do think he's got a smart brain that's for sure."
Here's a clip of Khalil Rountree Jr.'s full statement posted by Home of Fight on X:
Khalil Rountree Jr. looking to take the rest of the year off after UFC 307
Despite being on the losing end of his first world title shot, Rountree Jr.'s stock arguably went up because of how well he performed against the champion. Other than former UFC middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya, no one hurt the stoic Brazilian like Rountree did.
Speaking on what's next after UFC 307, Rountree said:
"I'm not really sure what's next. I know like, right now with this surgery in my nose [and] everything, I'd imagine that I'm for sure going to take the rest of the year off to let this stuff heal up. But I'm hoping that at some point I sit down with the UFC and we can discuss [what] it is that they see next for me. I'd imagine and hope that I'd be able to still fight within the top three, top five."
Watch the full podcast episode here (22:31):
Before UFC 307, Khalil Rountree Jr. was ranked at No.8 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings. There are more than a few men in that stacked top ten that would provide a great fight for the former title challenger.