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Khalil Rountree Jr. prepares to return to the cage following his barnburner bout with Alex Pereira last Oct. and the former has touched upon the most notable takeaway he had from that title bid. Rountree Jr. steps back into the octagon this Saturday when he does battle with former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill in the main event of UFC Baku.
Khalil Rountree vs. Alex Pereira was a riveting bout that headlined UFC 307, with Rountree Jr. having big moments in the fight, including dropping the then-light heavyweight titleholder. When the dust settled though, Pereira retained his 205 pound crown with a fourth round stoppage of the challenger.
During an interview with Shak MMA, Khalil Rountree Jr. expounded upon his big takeaway from the 'Poatan' bout. He said:
"I think the biggest thing that I learned is that coming out for the fourth round, I remember my coach saying something along the lines of like ten minutes. Like ten minutes, stay in there, and I just took it the wrong way. It took it as like oh, ten minutes like I can sail out [laughs]. I didn't necessarily do things in a smart way."
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He continued:
"I kind of went out there and bit down on my mouth guard in the fourth round instead of playing it smart and knowing that I was up two rounds. So it was just my first time being in a five round fight and dealing with the emotions of it being a title. All on top of obviously having to experience the power that Alex had. So yeah, there was a few different factors."
Check out Rountree Jr.'s big takeaways from his Pereira set back below [6:05]:
Khalil Rountree Jr. is favored at UFC Baku by Pereira himself
Alex Pereira recently gave his thoughts on the upcoming UFC Baku main event featuring Rountree Jr. and Hill. 'Poatan,' who has faced and defeated both men in the past, gave Rountree Jr. the edge over former divisional kingpin Jamahal Hill. In a video segment done for the UFC Canada page on X, Pereira stated:
"They're both great fighters and well-rounded. I fought them both. So I can say something more accurate. They're both dangerous but I think by my fight against Khalil, I see him having some advantages against Jamahal. That's my opinion."
