Khalil Rountree Jr gave everything he had in his title fight with current light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira at UFC 307, and so despite ultimately being TKO’d in the fourth round he says he still felt content within himself before, during and afterwards.
“It was a bit surreal to be standing in front of him in moments, in the face-off and stuff,” Rountree told Fight Energy Films. “But I asked for that fight from the beginning. I always knew that I wanted to fight him, so when I was there, it was just more of a thing … this is what I’ve wanted, this is what I’ve always imagined. …
“The only thing I can really remember is just being happy. Even the moment when I got finished in the fourth round, I just felt so happy throughout that whole fight. It felt like I was where I belonged. I felt like I belonged there. So it was really like living in a dream and there was nothing but happiness and excitement in those moments.”
Rountree won a lot of plaudits that night for the way he performed against such a tough opponent, and that new-found respect is helping to fuel him as the 34-year-old looks ahead to what comes next.
“I think the reflection point, I’m focused on getting better now, because I want to continue to win. I want to continue to put on exciting fights, but I want to continue on the path of becoming a champion. That’s still something I want to be and I’m going to work towards being.
“But it’s also nice that although I’m not a champion, I’ve got this level of respect and recognition that a champion would have. So it’s a weird position to be in, but it’s nice. I’ve still got some work to do.”
Rountree also believes the fight taught him a tough, but ultimately valuable and attainable lesson about what he needs to improve upon in order to become a champion.
“I think that moving forward, I think it will be good to have caution but I see myself really being able to let loose moving forward. I don’t want to — I gave it all. I really did. I went all the way to the end, but I still think there is more of me to give. I think that, as far as my skill and intelligence goes, there’s some room there.
“…I didn’t know until now that I needed to really learn more. Obviously, no matter what, we’ve got to continue to grow, we’ve got to continue to learn; but I think this fight really put it into perspective. It really helped me to see the gap of where I want to be versus where I am. it just kind of woke me up.”
