Tag: Khalil Rountree

Social media reacts to Khalil Rountree holding back in TKO of Anthony Smith at UFC Fight Night 233

The MMA community reacted to Khalil Rountree holding back from smashing Anthony Smith in his TKO win at UFC Fight Night 233.

[autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag]’s winning streak now has a signature name on it after he beat [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] on Saturday in the UFC Fight Night 233 headliner.

Rountree (13-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) extended his streak to five consecutive fights in the light heavyweight division, and there’s no more established figure on that list after his third-round TKO victory over Smith (37-19 MMA, 12-9 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Check below for the top X (formerly Twitter) reactions to Rountree’s victory over Smith at UFC Fight Night 233.

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UFC Fight Night 233 video: Khalil Rountree wobbles Anthony Smith, wins by TKO, calls for Alex Pereira title fight

Khalil Rountree is now on a career-best five-fight winning streak after defeating Anthony Smith at UFC Fight Night 233 – and now he wants a title shot.

[autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] got the signature win he’s been wanting to add to his resume Saturday after defeating former light heavyweight title challenger [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] in the UFC Fight Night 233 co-main event.

Rountree (13-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) saw his career-best streak reach five when he beat Smith (37-19 MMA, 12-9 UFC) by third-round TKO at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

“The War Horse” once again made the difference with his power and striking technique as he managed to hurt Smith multiple times before dropping him for the finish 56 seconds into Round 3. Afterward, Rountree called for a title shot against reigning 205-pound kingpin Alex Pereira.

“I came in with high hopes I would have a good performance,” Rountree said in his post-fight interview with Paul Felder. “Las Vegas is the home of the UFC. And in my mind I feel like it’s time to have a champion at home. I’m in the top 10 now and the only thing that I want to do is fight Alex Pereira. I know that I have other people that I have to possibly fight, but I know that’s a fight the fans would want to see. I think that from what I’ve seen, the fans would love to see that fight.”

Smith pushed to the middle of the cage to begin Round 1. However, Rountree got a read quickly and started landing some powerful shots. Smith stayed composed and found him moments to counter, but Rountree significantly tested his chin on multiple occasions.

The momentum for Rountree continued into Round 2. He wobbled Smith with a huge punch early in the round then settled in to a persistent flow of punches and kicks. Smith continued to push forward and pressure Rountree, but failed to land anything clean enough to meaningfully alter the flow of the action.

In the third, Rountree loaded up with a slick uppercut, left hand combination that once again sent Smith wobbling back. This time he dropped, and while Rountree stood over him threatening a hammerfist, the referee stopped in and waved it off.

With the result, Rountree, who entered the fight No. 12 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie light heavyweight rankings, can expect forward movement into the top 10 of the weight class. The 33-year-old hasn’t tasted defeat since January 2021, but had never got open the hump of four-straight wins previously in his career. Now that has changed.

Smith, meanwhile, fell short after stepping in on 15 days’ notice as a replacement to fight Rountree. “Lionheart” is now 1-3 in his past four fights dating back to July 2022.

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Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 233 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

UFC Fight Night 233 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC Fight Night 233 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 233 took place Saturday with 11 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

You can hear from all the UFC Fight Night 233 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

Khalil Rountree sees UFC Fight Night 233 win over Anthony Smith elevating career ‘to another level’

Khalil Rountree believes a win over Anthony Smith would lead to his first-career UFC headliner.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] sees a win over [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] leading to his first-career UFC headliner.

Rountree (12-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) meets Smith (37-18 MMA, 12-8 UFC) in a light heavyweight bout that co-headlines Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 233 event at the UFC Apex. The card streams on ESPN+.

Currently riding a four-fight winning streak, Rountree could be on the cusp of landing his desired headlining spot if he beats former title challenger Smith.

“I’d imagine that it would bring me higher in the rankings. I’d imagine that it would bring a good wave of new fans and potential popularity,” Rountree told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “I think it just helps my career elevate to another level or stage. The fact that this fight is co-main event is a great warm-up to a main event and being able to, I guess, even be worthy of having a main event.”

Rountree was originally scheduled to face rising undefeated contender Azamat Murzakanov, but Murzakanov withdrew and was replaced by Smith, whom Rountree admits is a bigger opportunity.

“I believe so, yeah,” Rountree said. “I can say that honestly. Yeah, it did excite me a little bit more only because I’ve had past conversations about this potential matchup, maybe one or two fights from now or something like that. So, the name has definitely come up in the past as far as just what to aim for and reaching for a title shot.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

Why did Anthony Smith take short-notice fight vs. Khalil Rountree? ‘I like doing crazy sh*t’

Former UFC title challenger Anthony Smith explains why rankings don’t really matter, as he steps into a fight on less than two weeks’ notice.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] knows it seems crazy to some, which is precisely why he likes it so much.

Two weeks ago, Smith (37-18 MMA, 12-8 UFC) didn’t even have a fight on the books. Saturday, he steps into the UFC Fight Night 233 co-main bout opposite [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] (12-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC). The event takes place at the UFC Apex.

“They wanted me to fight him in Austin, but there were like six days or something like that,” Smith told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “It was really short notice. I said I would take the fight but I couldn’t make 205 that fast. So I asked for a catchweight.

“Everyone was good with the catchweight, but Dana (White) isn’t a huge fan of catchweights. So he asked if I would make 205 this weekend, so he gave me an extra weekend to make the weight class. I said yeah.”

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For Smith, a former UFC title challenger, the risk doesn’t necessarily outweigh the reward. While some critics may question his decision to fight backward on short notice against a dangerous knockout artist, Smith dismissed the rankings’ significance in the determination of his future.

“The rankings are for people on Twitter and you guys,” Smith said. “We don’t really pay attention to that too much. To be honest, the UFC doesn’t really pay that much attention to it either. Rankings are like a marketing machine. It’s really easy to make people care about something more when there are numbers next to their names.

“The UFC understands how tough of a position I put myself in and how hard it is to come in on short notice and beat a guy like Khalil. And it’s even harder to look good doing it. So if you come in and you put yourself in these precarious positions and do hard things, I think you get rewarded for that.”

So what deep down in Smith’s core makes him want to take a fight others would potentially decline?

“I like doing crazy sh*t,” Smith said. “Taking a fight with Khalil Rountree on like 10 days’ notice is pretty crazy.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

Video: UFC Fight Night 233 media day interviews

Before UFC Fight Night 233 on Saturday, watch as the main-card athletes speak to reporters at media day.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 233, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a card that streams entirely on ESPN+, goes down Saturday.

Before fight night arrives, though, notable athletes from the main card spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day.

If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each media day.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

UFC Fight Night 233 pre-event facts: Khalil Rountree on cusp of knockdown record vs. Anthony Smith

The best facts about UFC Fight Night 233, which features Khalil Rountree chasing a key record vs. Anthony Smith.

The UFC’s penultimate event of 2023 goes down Saturday with UFC Fight Night 233, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+.

Ranked bantamweights meet in the main event of the card, which was originally scheduled to take place in Shanghai before being shifted to “Sin City” on short notice. [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] (20-7-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag] (20-5-2 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) in a matchup of names looking to take the next step in a loaded 135-pound weight class.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts from UFC Fight Night 233.

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Michael Bisping: ‘You’ve got to favor’ Anthony Smith over Khalil Rountree at UFC Fight Night 233, even on short notice

Michael Bisping believes that Anthony Smith, even without much time to prepare, has the advantage against Khalil Rountree at UFC Fight Night 233.

Despite [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] stepping in on short notice, UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] gives him the advantage over [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag].

After Rountree (12-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) lost his opponent for UFC on ESPN 52 this Saturday, he was booked against short-notice replacement Smith (37-18 MMA, 12-8 UFC) a week later at UFC Fight Night 233 on Dec. 9 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Bisping, a good friend and podcast co-host of Smith’s, lauds the former title challenger for taking the opportunity against the streaking Rountree.

“He’s rolling the dice, he’s daring to be great, he’s stepping up on short notice,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “Khalil Rountree is the real deal. He’s a tough guy. He’s got big power.”

But with Smith having fought the likes of former UFC light heavyweight champion and current heavyweight champ Jon Jones and top contender Magomed Ankalaev, he sees Smith’s experience playing a big factor. He also thinks “Lionheart” has the well rounded skillset to prevail.

“You’ve got to favor Anthony in that,” Bisping continued. “He’s fought better competition, he’s been around longer, he’s got bags of experience. I think striking wise, he can more than handle himself on the feet against Khalil.

“In the grappling department, I think Anthony is leaps and bounds ahead of him. But hey, it’s a fight. He’s stepping up on short notice. I’m assuming he’s been in the gym, and he’s been training otherwise he wouldn’t do it. Anthony takes his career very seriously.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC fights announced in the past week (Nov. 20-26)

All the UFC fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Nov. 20-26.

Anthony Smith replaces ill Azamat Murzakanov to face Khalil Rountree at UFC Fight Night 233

Azamat Murzakanov is out of his scheduled fight against Khalil Rountree, who will now face Anthony Smith on short notice in Las Vegas.

[autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] lost his opponent and will no longer be competing at UFC on ESPN 52. However, a former title challenger has stepped up as a replacement for a fight to take place a week later.

Rountree (12-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) was scheduled to face Azamat Murzakanov at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas on Dec. 2. However, UFC CEO Dana White has announced the undefeated Murzakanov (13-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has pneumonia and will no longer be able to compete.

All is not lost for Rountree though, as former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith has stepped up as a replacement. The new matchup announced by White in a video posted to Instagram will now take place a week later at UFC Fight Night 233 on Dec. 9 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0DFRDYv6OL/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Smith (37-18 MMA, 12-8 UFC) will compete for the third time in 2023. In his last outing, “Lionheart” picked up a split decision win in a rematch against Ryan Spann at UFC Fight Night 225. The result snapped a two-fight skid for the former title challenger, marking Smith’s first win since defeating Spann by submission in their first meeting.

Rountree gets to ensure a fight camp doesn’t go to waste by fighting a week later than originally planned. The fight will be Rountree’s second of 2023, following a knockout finish of Chris Daukaus at UFC on ESPN 51 in August.

With the change, the current lineup on Dec. 9 includes:

  • Song Yadong vs. Chris Guiterrez
  • Anthony Smith vs. Khalil Rountree
  • Andre Muniz vs. Junyong Park
  • Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jamie Mullarkey
  • Carlos Hernandez vs. Tatsuro Taira
  • Su Mudaerji vs. Allan Nascimento
  • Sung Hyun Park vs. Shannon Ross
  • Kevin Jousset vs. Song Kenan
  • Stephanie Egger vs. Luana Santos
  • Talita Alencar vs. Rayanne dos Santos

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