The pain for UFC light heavyweight Khalil Rountree did not end with his failed title challenge in Salt Lake City this past weekend.
Rountree received a surprise opportunity to unseat Alex Pereira from the 205-pound throne in the main event of Saturday's UFC 307 pay-per-view, and he was on track to do so through two rounds.
Against the odds, "The War Horse" started on top, moving two frames clear on all three scorecards. But after the tide began to turn in round three, "Poatan" increased the heat in vicious fashion once they hit the championship rounds.
The finishing sequence in the fourth stanza made for painful viewing, and the damage suffered by the challenger was unsurprisingly not just superficial...
Rountree On Post-UFC 307 Surgery: 'Very, Very Uncomfortable'
During a recent interview with Kevin Iole, Rountree reflected on his valiant performance in Utah on Oct. 5 and detailed the damage that Pereira's fight-ending onslaught left him with.
The 34-year-old revealed that he exited the cage at UFC 307 with a badly deviated septum, which required an incredibly painful procedure to correct days on from the defeat.
I don’t know what punch, but I know that last uppercut before the body shots definitely landed on my nose. But I already had felt some pain in my head,” Rountree said. "It could’ve been from that, but after we got the scans and everything the night of the fight, the doctors saw that there was some slight fracturing and a severely deviated septum. So we went right ahead and corrected that as soon as I got home.
Definitely the most uncomfortable, painful procedure I’ve ever had last night," Rountree continued. "It was the hardest sleep. My mouth is constantly dry and just a constant headache. Inside my nose, my nasal cavities right now are just stuffed with sponges and splints. It’s very, very uncomfortable.
Nevertheless, Rountree stated that every injury and blemish is worth it in his pursuit of championship glory on MMA's biggest stage.
And while he didn't reach it first time around, "The War Horse" has vowed to bounce back stronger in 2025.