Light Heavyweight Khalil Rountree Jr. Faces Champion Alex Pereira This Saturday In The Main Event At UFC 307: Pereira vs Rountree Jr. In Salt Lake City, Utah

In a few short days, Khalil Rountree Jr. will get the opportunity to fight for a UFC title, a dream he’s been chasing for over a decade.

The 34-year-old signed with the UFC in 2016 after reaching the finals of The Ultimate Fighter Season 23. It was a lack of consistency inside the Octagon that kept him from this moment sooner. However, after racking up five straight wins – four of them by knockout – he quickly became the most intriguing challengers for one of the UFC’s biggest and most decorated stars.

“It’s definitely just a testament to hard work, dedication, staying focused and keeping the vision alive,” Rountree said. “Now I’m here and it just feels good. I’m glad I’m here. I see the work it took to get here, and I’m prepared.”

At UFC 307, Rountree will face Brazilian superstar and UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, who has claimed the middleweight and light heavyweight titles in just three short years and is now aiming for his third successful title defense at 205 pounds.

Khalil Rountree Jr. kicks Anthony Smith in a light heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on December 09, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

“I’m a unique challenge because I’m a unique fighter and I bring a different s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁set to the challenge,” Rountree said. “I think my style matches up perfectly, I think my style gives me a high chance of winning, and not to really compare to the other guys, but it’s my time.”

Shortly after this fight was announced, Rountree told UFC.com that Pereira has evolved so quickly in his UFC career that it’s difficult to predict what he might bring to the Octagon on fight night. Rather than analyzing Pereira’s every move, Rountree took a different approach, focusing solely on his own ability.

“The biggest thing in this training camp was getting me prepared and getting me to be the best version of myself all around, which I think in turn helps us prepare for a guy like Alex,” Rountree said. “We haven’t been too focused on him and what he does, but more coming with the belief that if I’m at my best, then that’s the key to success.”

The two will clash in a five-round main event in Salt Lake City, Utah, known for its high altitude, which has led many fighters to gas out early in the past. Rountree has never competed in a five-round fight in the UFC, let alone a championship headliner. To acclimate to the conditions on Saturday night, he spent most of his training camp in Park City, Utah, nearly 3,000 feet higher in elevation. Upon arriving at the athlete hotel on Tuesday, Rountree felt a wave of relief being at a lower elevation compared to his training camp.

Khalil Rountree Jr. punches Dustin Jacoby in a light heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 29, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Stylistically, this matchup is as thrilling as it gets. Both fighters have recorded nine knockouts in their professional mixed martial arts careers and continue to finish opponents at higher levels of competition.

“This is a super exciting fight for the fans,” Rountree said. “You couldn’t ask for a better matchup in this division. Two guys, predominantly strikers, heavy hitters, we’re at the top of the mountain. This is like a Mortal Kombat level… I don’t think any fan will be disappointed.”

While the job is not finished for Rountree, who still needs to overcome the final boss this Saturday at Delta Center, reaching this moment is a significant milestone in itself. The journey has not been easy for him; he lost his father at just two years old and admits he didn’t always have the courage to face challenges because he didn’t have someone to reassure him life would turn out okay.

That feeling led him down a path of “self-destruction,” during his young adult years, which included smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, taking prescription pills, and eventually weighing 305 pounds.

Khalil Rountree Jr. prepares to fight Karl Roberson in their light heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on March 12, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

“There was a night where I was trying to fall asleep and I just felt my heart doing really weird things that it shouldn’t have been doing,” Rountree said on UFC 307 Countdown. “There was a moment where I thought, ‘Okay, this is the night I’m going to die in my sleep.’ And that was when I started to think about what can I do to hold onto my life and that’s what drove me to start being more open-minded to things that involved fitness and health, and MMA was perfect for me.”

He won all six of his amateur MMA bouts before transitioning to the professional ranks in 2014, and he hasn’t looked back since. Whenever there was a bump in Rountree’s journey to Saturday’s main event, his teammates always reinforced the motto: “just keep climbing.”

“I think, for one, if you see any uphill challenges, that’s a good sign,” Rountree said. “I’d say for me, facing those uphill challenges was about continuing to push forward no matter what, just keep climbing. One of our mottos in training camp is to just keep climbing, never get comfortable, never look to camp out too long. It’s about climbing when your legs are burning, your lungs are burning, and you just keep going. Take time to rest and recover, but the only way to get to the top is to just keep going.

“The most important thing, too, is who you have around you in these moments. It’s really hard to do all this stuff alone, but if you got the right people that are dedicated to keeping you accountable to what you said you were going to do, that’s the key.”