Khalil Rountree Jr. did not emerge victorious against Alex Pereira but that's not to say that he didn't learn a lot from that light heavyweight title bid all the same. Rountree Jr. discussed the Pereira fight during a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show. Rountree Jr. was riding a five fight win streak into the clash with the Brazilian knockout artist after punching his ticket to a title shot by finishing former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith via strikes.
In an outing that saw him drop Pereira to the canvas at one point, Rountree Jr. would eventually succumb to uppercuts from 'Poatan' in the final forty seconds of the fourth frame in their UFC 307 clash for the 205 pound title. When touching upon what he learned from that battle with the former two-division UFC champion, Khalil Rountree Jr. said,
“I saw how far I was willing to go. I was really tested to the very end in that fight. I went as far as I possibly could, and in my mind, I enjoyed the whole thing. I enjoyed it all the way through. It was just something that I remember. I gave my absolute all in that fight, and so I got to experience what that feels like."
"I think that it just helped me grow and not necessarily be afraid of the fire, for lack of better words. I’ve been through the fire, and although I didn’t make it out victorious, I’ve been there and I felt that. I felt it, and so I think that it toughened me up a bit.”
Khalil Rountree Jr. and his path back to UFC gold
Khalil Rountree Jr. has not stepped into the cage since that Alex Pereira contest last October but the former will don the four ounce gloves once again later this week. The 35-year-old will look to carve a path back to contending for the 205 pound title as Rountree Jr. will test skills with a former UFC light heavyweight champion in Jamahal Hill at UFC Baku on June 21st.
This Fight Night headliner between Rountree Jr. and Hill certainly positions the winner well in the title challenger hierarchy underneath reigning titleholder Magomed Ankalaev. This bout will see the number seven ranked light heavyweight in the promotion do battle with the UFC's number four ranked contender in that weight class, respectively.
