Khalil Rountree Jr is ready to try and make a statement when he battles Jiri Prochazka at UFC 320 next month.
Over the course of the last few years, Khalil Rountree Jr has really established himself as a threat at 205 pounds. In addition to taking Alex Pereira to the limit in their title fight, he was also able to put on an absolute clinic against Jamahal Hill in his last outing.
Now, at UFC 320, Khalil Rountree Jr will battle Jiri Prochazka, knowing that a decisive win could well lead to him earning another crack at the strap. In a recent media scrum, he spoke candidly about what it means to him to try and wear UFC gold.
Khalil Rountree Jr looks to the future
"The motivation is seeing the possibility, really seeing the possibility of being able to achieve the belt, being able to actually hold it," Rountree told MMA Junkie and other reporters Friday following an open workout at Syndicate MMA.
"That possibility seems really, really close. That's the motivation part. The discipline part is, being that close is a lot to have to... I'm almost there. The discipline part gets hard every single day, not having a social life, not doing anything really, not really having a normal life because I'm so focused on being close. That's the hard part. Hey man, I could say a million words, I'm just feeling a lot for this fight."
"If you think about a puzzle, I've never really seen this puzzle in person," Rountree said. "I've got to go crack it. If and when I do, it's going to be very interesting to watch from a fighter and fan perspective. People who enjoy the strategy in fighting and stuff like that. Yeah, I think the fans will enjoy it.
"The two guys in there, we're going to feel the pain. We've got to feel it. There's excitement behind it. There are good feelings behind it, but at the end of the day, being in that experience and actually cracking the puzzle, it'll feel good to get the job done and see it all together."
"The statement I need to make is, it should look like this, 'This guy absolutely deserves the No. 1 contender shot, are you crazy? Did you just see that performance against Prochazka? Absolutely, this guy is undeniable," Rountree said. "That's kind of how I see it."
Quotes via MMA Junkie