"A much under utilized legal strike" - Conor McGregor praises Khalil Rountree Jr. for landing thunderous soccer kick on Karl Roberson

Conor McGregor recently praised Khalil Rountree Jr. for landing a devastating soccer kick on Karl Roberson en route to his impressive stoppage win. Rountree faced Roberson in a light heavyweight bout at the UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev event on March 12.

The back-and-forth fight ended in round two, courtesy of a vicious onslaught of strikes from Rountree. He landed a thunderous body kick, while a downed Roberson was trying to get back to his feet. That was followed by a few more punches and kicks that earned Rountree a second-round TKO victory.

Kicks and knees to the head of a downed opponent are prohibited in the UFC as per the 'Unified Rules of MMA'. Nevertheless, kicks and knees to the body of a downed opponent are considered legal strikes.

UFC megastar Conor McGregor was one of many in the MMA community who expressed their appreciation for Rountree’s picture-perfect kick. Responding to a tweet featuring a photo of Rountree’s kick, McGregor tweeted the following:

“A lovely timed soccer kick to the body of a downed opponent. A much under utilized legal strike. Nice to see some fresh innovation again in there instead of the usual garbage we see over and over.”

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Chael Sonnen on why Conor McGregor could fight for the UFC lightweight title when he returns

Conor McGregor is on a two-fight losing streak. ‘The Notorious’ suffered a gruesome leg injury last July and has been focusing on his recovery ever since. He’s expected to make his highly anticipated return to the octagon this year.

The Irishman has previously held the featherweight and lightweight titles in both, Cage Warriors and UFC. McGregor has consistently maintained that he’d like his comeback matchup to be a UFC lightweight title fight.

Presently, UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira is set to defend his title against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 on May 7. The consensus is that McGregor could likely fight whoever holds the lightweight title later this year.

In an edition of Beyond the Fight, Chael Sonnen insinuated that McGregor’s accomplishments and star power could land him a title fight when he returns, leapfrogging other top-tier contenders. The MMA legend indicated that McGregor simply had a bad night in his recent defeats, but he’s still worthy of a title shot. Sonnen said:

"He's got three world championship belts...I'll put anybody's resume you want, but here's what the resume is going to be: I've won seven fights in a row, I should fight for the belt, versus, I'm a three-time world champion... There's not one of you that isn't going to pick the world championships."

Watch Islam Makhachev talking about RDA fight;