Khalil Rountree Jr believes a fight between him and Alex Pereira is what “the fans want to see.”
In January 2021, Rountree suffered one of the worst losses of his fighting career – a unanimous decision against Marcin Prachnio. Since then, the Las Vegas resident has silenced the doubters with five consecutive wins, four by KO/TKO, including his latest against Anthony Smith in December 2023.
Rountree recently did an interview on the JAXXON PODCAST to discuss various topics about his journey and what’s next. During the nearly two-hour conversation, the 34-year-old had this to say about potentially fighting the UFC light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira:
“I think that he’s good. I think that he’s great. He’s the champion. I think he’s the champion for a reason. I think that he’s got great striking experience. I personally think that if the two of us matched up, me vs Alex, I think that honestly, when I see that fight happening, and when it does happen because it will happen, that’s the fight that all the fans want. That’s the fight that the fans want, whether it’s for a belt or not. That’s the fight that the fans want to see. That is a fight to me that is exciting.”
Watch Rountree finish Smith in his latest fight below:
Khalil Rountree just spared Smith 💀 #UFCVegas85 pic.twitter.com/e46CTEWil6
— Kenny Okoye🇳🇬 (@TruthfulUfcFan) December 10, 2023
Khalil Rountree wants to fight Alex Pereira regardless of UFC 300 main event result
On April 13, Alex Pereira looks to defend his light heavyweight title for the first time against Jamahal Hill in the highly-anticipated UFC 300 main event. During the previously mentioned interview, Khalil Rountree Jr made it clear that he wants to fight Pereira because of the stylistic matchup instead of simply UFC gold:
“As far as UFC 300 goes, I don’t necessarily cares who wins that one. It would be nice for it to be Alex because then that means like when he stays champion, and it’s time for me to make a title run, if he’s still the champion then that means I get a chance to beat him and actually get the title from that fight and to me, that’s big, that’s a big moment. If it’s not, say he loses and then they are like, ‘You know what? This is what you asked for. We’ll give you a main event against Alex Pereira. I still think that’s good for me, for my brand, for my career because it’s just a big fight.”
Khalil Rountree Jr is currently the number eight-ranked UFC light heavyweight. Therefore, he will need another win before earning a title shot unless a desperate short-notice opportunity arises. Potential opponents for Rountree’s next fight include but are not limited to Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev.
Watch Rountree’s entire interview below:
