Khalil Rountree won’t forget his battle with UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira in a hurry.
Rountree, 34, came up short in his title bid in the UFC 307 main event in Salt Lake City, Utah, losing by fourth round TKO to the dominant Brazilian champion in what was, for the first two rounds at least, a highly competitive title fight between two of the 205-pound division’s most fearsome stand-up threats.
And the evidence of Pereira’s world class striking ability is still displayed on Rountree’s face, exactly one month out from their title fight.
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In a post to Instagram showing Rountree in a range of activities, including at the gym and having a meal with friends or family, ‘The War Horse’ also showed a close-up image of his face which displays scarring on the bridge of his nose as well as around his eyebrow — remnants of giant gashes opened up by Pereira in the near-20 minutes in which they shared the cage.
It remains to be seen how long Rountree will remain on the sidelines after sustaining a (brave) defeat in the biggest fight of his career thus far but with him ranked sixth in a division in which several fighters remain jockeying for position to break into the top-five, it is highly conceivable that Rountree could be back at the business end of the weight category with just one or two more wins under his belt.
