Rountree’s face was a mess, and he suffered a deviated septum which needed a painful procedure. He recently revealed that his vision was also severely compromised during the fight from the damage he took.
“In the moment, I didn’t feel it,” Rountree said on the “JAXXON Podcast.” “For instance, in the fight where this cut happened, I got hit, and boom. I knew I had gotten hit hard because I started to see my vision kind of blur a little bit. But the second one that landed, the one that actually split my eye, in that moment I went blind. But f*ck it: I’m going to keep going.
“I didn’t see anything after that – I saw just light. I didn’t see shadows, I didn’t see anything. It was like if someone put a frosted film. So I can’t see. I’m f*cking blind. But whatever – I’m not going to give up. But the sensation, I didn’t feel anything. The adrenaline was too high, but I realized it was there. My eye was f*cked up, but I’ll deal with it later.”
Rountree stood toe-to-toe with Pereira and found success early by winning Rounds 1 and 2 on all three judges’ scorecards, but “Poatan” was able to break him down eventually for a late finish.
In his most recent outing, Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) suffered a first-round knockout loss to Pereira at UFC 300 in April. He was scheduled to face Rountree at UFC 303 in June, but withdrew due to injury. His performance against Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) drew comparisons to Rountree’s, but Hill is confident that he would handily beat Rountree if they ever fought.
“The way that Pereira beat Khalil, for one – Pereira couldn’t beat me fighting that way,” Hill told Sportskeeda. “And two, that’s how I would’ve beat Khalil from the jump. He would’ve gotten beat like that even earlier in the fight. Pieced up with hands? Come on, bro. That’s what I do. People got recency bias and things like that. If anybody thinks that Khalil is on my level, let’s see him go and win a fight because he’s not even – we’re not even in the same bracket right now.
“He got a title shot just because he was an easy mark for the champ, he’s a favorable matchup for the champ. He’s No. 8, coming off a loss. I’m in the top five. He’s got to get a win before he gets up and before that’s even a thing. And if he does get a win, and that ever does materialize to be a thing, anybody who thinks he can beat me, bet $1 million on it. Bet your house on it. Real talk. I bet nobody going to bet nothing that they really want to lose on that. Nobody’s taking that bet.”
Hill revealed that he already signed a contract for his next fight. “Sweet Dreams” didn’t announce the opponent, but with former title challenger Jiri Prochazka also recently signing a contract, many are speculating it could be him.
Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”
Thursday’s episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
On Episode 3,506, the gentlemen welcome in Ian Parker to discuss the betting angles for PFL: Battle of the Giants. The fellas also preview the card in Riyadh, featuring the returns of Francis Ngannou and Cris Cyborg. Tune in!
Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”
Monday’s episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
On Episode 3,505, the gentlemen welcome in a pair of guests: Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] and upcoming Bellator middleweight title challenger [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag]. The fellas also recap UFC Fight Night 244 and more. Tune in!
Khalil Rountree is determined to fight for the title again after his UFC 307 loss to Alex Pereira, and doesn’t care who it put in his way.
[autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] thinks he proved himself as a top light heavyweight in his loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 307, and now he wants to show he can be champion.
Rountree (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) put up a valiant effort earlier this month when he challenges Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) for the belt in a Fight of the Year candidate that resulted in a fourth-round TKO defeat. Rountree’s title shot was unexpected given his No. 8 ranked prior to the fight, but he surpassed the expectation of many before falling short.
Although he didn’t get his hand raised, the respect and admiration that’s poured in for Rountree from throughout the MMA community has been impossible to miss. He said it’s meant a lot to him, especially when coming from the UFC’s top power players.
“I’ve spoken personally with Dana (White) and Hunter (Campbell) and I feel like I got the steak dinner already because they were entertained,” Rountree told MMA Junkie Radio. “I think for me as a partner with the UFC it’s one of my biggest goals to make sure the guys at the top are pleased with what they see. After speaking with them and them being excited about the performance, they’re definitely pleased. That felt like a treat in itself. As far as what’s next on the fight end, I think there would be a little bit more room for me to say what I want. But that vision right now is not so clear.”
Rountree revealed he signed a new multi-fight UFC contract before stepping into the octagon with Pereira, and he intends to honor the whole deal. At 34, it seems this will be Rountree’s final big push in his career. He doesn’t want to take any backward steps, and that means facing a prominent name next
For Rountree, he is not picky outside of the numbers. He said he will need some time to recover from his various injuries and the nose surgery he underwent after the fight, but once he’s cleared for competition, the goal is to get the highest-ranked opponent possible so he can start to build another case for a crack at gold.
“I think right now any name in the top five or within title contention to me, makes sense,” Rountree said. “There’s not one name specifically. There’s not one person who I’m emotionally attached to or a fight I think I deserve next. But I would like to continue to fight people within the top five so I can get another shot at the title. It seems like the majority of the guys are booked or injured, but while I’m healing up there will be a good number of matchups to happen and I would love anybody that sets me up for another title fight.”
One name that has been frequently mentioned for Rountree is a rebooking with former champion Jamahal Hill, who he was supposed to face at UFC 303 in July before the matchup was scratched.
Hill went viral after UFC 307 for his yawning reaction to the main event, which he clarified wasn’t directed at Rountree. That’s a potential fight, but Rountree reiterated he’s not attaching himself to one name as of now.
“I saw it after the fact online – it’s nice to hear the clarification because based off the crowd response and everything I’ve seen, and other articles and post that I’ve seen – the majority of people seem to think it was an entertaining fight,” Rountree said. “So I was bit confused to see why he thoughts maybe it was boring or worth a yawn. But like I said, the clarification definitely helps. Not everyone is going to think the same. Not everyone is going to be entertained.”
Israel Adesanya gives his opinion on Alex Pereira’s title defense against Khalil Rountree a UFC 307.
Give credit where credit is due. Former UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] paid his respect to both [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] and [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] following their recent clash.
This past Saturday, Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) and Rountree (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) gave fans one of the best championship fights of the year, going toe to toe for almost 20 minutes in the main event of UFC 307 in Salt Lake City.
Although the result was maybe expected, many were taken away by Rountree’s toughness and competitiveness, while also admiring Pereira’s comeback ability and skill. Adesanya was one of them.
“He lasted longer than I thought he would,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “At least someone else took him to the fourth round. It shows how good Khalil is. Again he’s (Pereira) got some hard fights in front of him, but he is that guy right now, he’s on.
“Honestly, I called it, but I thought it was going to be earlier. Shout out to Khalil because fighting with a broken nose and the intelligence not to blow his nose in the fight, respect. His stock goes up after this. What a moment.”
With the victory, Pereira is now on a five-fight winning streak since moving up to 205 pounds and has three title defenses. He won the light heavyweight title by stopping former champ Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 last November, and went on to pick up his first title defense in April at UFC 300 by finishing Jamahal Hill. “Poatan” then returned on short notice at UFC 303 in June, where he defeated Prochazka in a rematch.
On the other hand, Rountree saw his five-fight winning streak come to an end. This was his first UFC title opportunity in the eight years he’s been in the promotion.
Jamahal Hill says his reaction to Alex Pereira’s finish of Khalil Rountree was taken out of context.
[autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] says his reaction to [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]’s finish of [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] was taken out of context.
After Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) stopped Rountree (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC), the camera panned to Hill, who was seen yawning. Hill’s yawning reaction was understood by many as him thinking the fight was boring.
“It’s crazy how y’all see a clip with no context, no nothing, and y’all just be ready to talk sh*t and just attack and come disrespectful as ever,” Hill said on his YouTube channel. “It’s hilarious.
“I wasn’t mic’d up or anything like that, so I couldn’t explain the context of the yawn and things like that after the fight. I think I did hear a reporter told Alex, ‘Oh, Jamahal said the fight was boring.’ I never said the fight was boring.”
“Now, to the yawn, the yawn at the end was – was it entertaining? Yes,” Hill said. “Was I impressed? No. I’m not impressed. You know, I’m ready to go. Did I see anything in the cage that scares me or that I didn’t expect to see? No.
“So as far as reacting and everything, I don’t think I really need to do much of a reaction to this fight because, before, if you watch, or you watch my breakdowns, you can see I told you exactly how this fight was going to go.”
Alex Pereira reacts to Jamahal Hill yawning at his #UFC307 title defense.
After watching Alex Pereira finish Khalil Rountree, Jake Paul is even more confident that he could beat him in boxing.
After watching [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] finish [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag], [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] is even more confident that he could beat him in boxing.
Paul thinks Rountree exposed Pereira in that fight.
”One thousand percent I would beat him,” Paul told Adin Ross on boxing Pereira. “That’s the thing is, Rountree actually kind of exposed that he doesn’t have a high volume output. He doesn’t like body shots. In MMA, Pereira would rip my head off. But boxing is a completely different sport, and the pace of it, and the style of it.”
Paul (10-1) takes on 58-year-old boxing legend Mike Tyson (50-6-2) on Nov. 15 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. With Pereira currently under UFC contract, a fight with Paul is highly unlikely.
”He has holes,” Paul said. “I mean, Rountree rocked him, hurt him a couple of times to the body, but didn’t follow up on it. So if anything, this fight showed me, yes, Alex Pereira is great. But I know I would beat him in a boxing match, and I still would love to make that happen. Pressure is on him. If he can find his way out of the UFC contract like Nate Diaz did, then eventually him and I can talk.”
Pereira, a former two-weight division Glory Kickboxing champion, boxed once professionally – a TKO win over Marcelo de Souza Cruz 2017 in Brazil.
Khalil Rountree expects a big fight after falling short in his valiant effort vs. Alex Pereira at UFC 307.
[autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] expects a big fight after falling short in his valiant effort vs. Alex Pereira.
Rountree (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) was awarded the first two rounds of his light heavyweight title fight vs. champion Pereira in Saturday’s UFC 307 headliner before getting finished in Round 4. Rountree suffered a lot of damage in the fight, resulting in nose surgery, but his incredible heart won many fans over.
Prior to getting his title fight with Pereira, Rountree was booked to face former champion [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) at UFC 303 in June but withdrew due to a failed drug test that was blamed on a tainted supplement. Rountree thinks rescheduling his fight against Hill makes sense.
“Absolutely, I think it’s almost inevitable,” Rountree told Kevin Iole of fighting Hill. “I think he’s ranked No. 3. Anyone up there in the top five is kind of inevitable. So, let’s see what happens. Pretty shortly here, I’ll be talking to the matchmakers and the bosses and see what they think.
“I’m here for it all, I’m not done. I’m going to continue, and I believe that I’ll have another chance at fighting for a belt. Whether it’s Alex or whoever else, if someone’s able to take it from him. I think that fight can definitely still happen.”
Rountree revealed that he signed a new contract with the UFC prior to facing Pereira and still has plenty of fights left in him. After undergoing septoplasty surgery for a “severely deviated septum,” Rountree hopes to return early next year.
“I’m very excited to come back and fight again, but it will probably be Q1 next year,” Rountree said. “I know that people got to see me fight, but this really showed me two things: It showed me that I’m prepared to fight at that level, but it also showed me that there’s a lot to learn and there’s a lot to grow. I want to come back and be very skillful and strategic and just make sure that I make the right decisions.”
Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC 307, where Julianna Peña reclaimed the women’s bantamweight title.
The latest pay-per-view event for the UFC hosted a pair of title fights, producing a new two-time champion.
In the main event of UFC 307, [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] successfully defended his light heavyweight title by stopping [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] in a Fight of the Night battle. Pereira is already No. 1 in his division and in the P4P rankings, so he has nowhere to move. However, Rountree, even in a loss, moves up a few spots due to his stellar performance, moving from No. 12 to No. 10.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] emerged victorious in a controversial split decision win over [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] to win back the women’s bantamweight title. Peña entered the week at No. 2 and Pennington at No. 1, swapping places after Saturday’s result.
In another women’s bantamweight swap, No. 3 [autotag]Ketlen Viera[/autotag] lost to No. 4 [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag]. They swap rankings in this week’s update.
Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.
