Khalil Rountree Jr. may have lost to Alex Pereira at UFC 307, but he didn’t feel too bad about it.
Back in October, Rountree nearly pulled off an incredible upset, giving light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira all he could handle before ultimately getting finished in the fourth round of their title fight. The fight was the actualization of his dream, so despite the loss, “The War Horse” says he was quite happy even in the moment of his defeat.
“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 was not the only one happy; his admirable performance earned praise from UFC CEO Dana White and from fans. So even though he did not claim the light heavyweight title, it was nonetheless a star-making performance for Rountree, who says that over the past few months, the response from fans has led to a contrast of emotions for him.
“Very big contrast,” Rountree said. “The time between now and that fight, there’s been a huge contrast of emotions. But it’s been more good than bad. 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.”
And now having had several months to reflect, Rountree knows exactly what work he needs to do. Because, having come so close to the mountaintop, Rountree now has renewed confidence that he can become a world champion. He just needs to keep working.
“I’d say specifically in the fight against Alex, I knew that he was a dangerous fighter, and so there was a healthy level of caution in that fight,” Rountree said. “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.”
