Khalil Rountree wasn’t 100% against Jamahal Hill.
Last Saturday, Rountree faced off against Hill in the main event of UFC Baku, winning the dominant unanimous decision against the former light heavyweight champion. It was a key victory for the Rountree, who rebounded from his failed title challenge against Alex Pereira last year.
“I think this is the first time I felt uncomfortable in my knees while I was training in Jiu-Jitsu in the middle of training camp,” he explained on his YouTube channel. “I just had to train with bigger guys and do four sessions a day, running, jiu-jitsu and pads, and that was when I first started to feel uncomfortable, and it was really hard to wake up from there and walk and stand.
“If I found out what the injury was, I think it was only three weeks away from the actual combat date. So it was obviously stressful, but I received amazing, positive support to push through it and do whatever I could to do something like this as motivation and motivation.”
“The War Horse” dominated the Hill with his excellent movements and impressive, and the injury did not hinder the performance of Rountree as he bit Hill’s foot with a kick in the third round, dropping the former champion and taking over the Hill. It’s never a good thing to get injured and head into a fight, but he says that Lone Tree is at least with silver lining.
“In the beginning, I was in devastation and couldn’t really train the way I wanted,” Rountree said. “But it was like a blessing in disguise. I was in a really fresh cage tonight and couldn’t spar in three weeks. The last three weeks have recovered in addition to getting sick during the week of fighting.”
Rountree also praises fans for their ability to overcome obstacles. This was the UFC’s first trip to Azerbaijan, and Lone Tree says the love and support from the attendees helped to promote his big victory on Saturday.
“The positive thing about getting so many fans’ support was that it’s good to be grateful for what we’re doing,” Rountree said. “It’s not an easy job to fight, and commit your life to battle. So, to see the reactions of people who are really grateful for it and are really excited to see us, it’s pretty motivating. It’s really looking forward to visiting me and seeing us visit and seeing us perform and doing what we love. Do my job.”