UFC light heavyweight star Jiri Prochazka has spoken about how Khalil Rountree Jr helped bring out a different side of him in their UFC 320 clash.
On Saturday night, Jiri Prochazka knocked out Khalil Rountree Jr in the final round of their UFC 320 clash - but that doesn't tell the full story. For the first two rounds of this fight, Khalil had Jiri in all kinds of trouble, putting forward the kind of technical display that we've gotten used to seeing from him in the last couple of years.
While he ultimately fell short and was knocked out, Khalil Rountree Jr can still hold his head up high, in a similar manner to how he accepted the Alex Pereira title loss. He may not be the best light heavyweight on the roster, but Khalil is more than capable of mixing it up with those in the elite category, and he deserves to be praised for that.
In his post-fight press conference appearance, Jiri Prochazka made sure to take the time to praise Khalil Rountree Jr for what he was able to bring to the table in Las Vegas.
Jiri Prochazka praises Khalil Rountree Jr
"Thank you for the fight. Thank you. Thank you. You activate my rarest side inside of myself, because wow—long time I didn’t activate myself like that. Because I really felt: you have to win or nothing, you have to find a way. And a long time I was not in this position in training, so I really need to be connected with this side of myself. Win or nothing. Yeah. So, so thank you, Khalil. Thank you, all your team, and I hope he will be back soon."