Khalil Rountree Jr. won’t soon forget his epic battle against Alex Pereira at UFC 307, because he’ll have the scars to show for it.
Despite a valiant effort, the light heavyweight title challenger came up short after his night ended with a devastating fourth round knockout loss as Pereira’s championship reign continued. Following the fight, Rountree was transported to a local Salt Lake City hospital for precautionary reasons, which included stitching up several gruesome cuts he suffered during the fight.
UFC CEO Dana White posted a backstage photo of Rountree showing off all the cuts and bruising from the battle against Pereira.
While the result didn’t go his way, Rountree showed tons of heart as he gave Pereira everything he could handle during the early part of the fight. As time passed, however, Pereira seized control with pinpoint accurate striking including a jab that did a lot of that damage to Rountree’s face.
By the time the fourth round was underway, Pereira’s face was a mess and so much blood was pouring out of the wounds that his entire face and chest were both covered.
Still, Rountree kept coming until Pereira finally blasted him with a pair of body shots and one final uppercut that ended his night. He didn’t get the win, but White had nothing but praise for Rountree for his performance.
“He had no fear from the first round,” White said. “Khalil Rountree went in there and started going at it the minute the bell rang. No fear, no jitters, no nerves. Maybe he had some jitters and nerves, if he did, he didn’t show it.
“He went right in against one of the baddest dudes of all time and just started mixing it up with him. It was awesome.”
It remains to be seen if all of the damage done was just superficial or if Rountree suffered any kind of injuries from the fight. He’ll get checked over by doctors in Utah before being cleared to return home to Las Vegas.
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