When Khalil Rountree Jr. showed gratitude for Conor McGregor's praise after his knockout victory: "That was wild"

Conor McGregor has previously taken notice of Khalil Rountree Jr.'s proficiency inside the octagon and today we're taking a look back at that moment of recognition. Rountree Jr. responded to McGregor's compliments in March 2022 when the dynamic striker was a guest on Ebro in the Morning for Hot 97.

This took place relatively shortly after his finish of Karl Roberson on March 12, 2022 at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs Ankalaev. When host Peter Rosenberg was discussing how the knockout was so spectacular that 'The Notorious' took notice, Rountree Jr. stated:

"Yeah, that was wild. I mean I've always had respect for Conor and what he's done for the sport. So to receive that was like.. He said something along the lines of like it being better than this boring stuff that all the fighters are doing. So I'm like dang, he's kind of telling me that like... It was a body kick."

He added:

"Like the guy was on the ground and I threw a kick to the body which to be honest, I don't know how many of those there are like in the UFC lately. So I might be the only guy right now doing it."

Check out Khalil Rountree Jr.'s comments below (3:01):

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Conor McGregor and the entirety of Khalil Rountree Jr.'s title shot path during his hiatus

Conor McGregor last competed in July 2021 when he had a shocking leg injury transpire in his trilogy clash with Dustin Poirier. In fact, the last time Khalil Rountree Jr. lost in MMA was on the undercard for Conor McGregor versus Dustin Poirier II. Since then, Rountree Jr. has accrued five consecutive victories, with four of them being knockouts.

The 34-year-old has a chance to cement himself as the UFC light heavyweight champion on Saturday night. To do so, he must prevail over the first man to capture belts at 185 and 205 pounds, Alex Pereira. It all goes down in the pay-per-view headliner for UFC 307 tomorrow night in Salt Lake City.