UFC light heavyweight Khalil Rountree Jr has spoken candidly about his title showdown with Alex Pereira.
On Saturday night, Khalil Rountree Jr will return to the cage when he goes head to head with Jamahal Hill in the main event of UFC Baku. There’s a lot of excitement in the air regarding how this fight may look, and for the most part, that’s because both men are strikers, and they’re both more than happy to stand and bang.
The story of Khalil Rountree Jr has been a pretty inspirational one ever since he first entered the promotion. If he can pick up a decisive win here, there’s a solid chance he could vault back into championship contention.
In a recent interview, Khalil Rountree Jr spoke about what he took away from the Alex Pereira fight.
Khalil Rountree Jr discusses Alex Pereira defeat
“I think that I proved to myself how far I was willing to go. You know, before it was over, had he not put me down with that shot, I would have just kept going. My entire face would have probably been even more mangled than it was. I just wasn’t going to give up. And, you know, obviously it hurt after—emotionally and physically—but I rose up from it because I was able to go through the fire.
“I think going through the fire really builds character, especially when you know that you gave your best and not one moment in that fight was I ever discouraged or wanted to quit. It just helped me have some pride, some inner grit. I got this like rock of gold, and I was like, ‘Ah, okay, cool.’ I can store that and hold on to that for myself, for no one else but myself.”
