'Has a lot of..': UFC fighter Khalil Rountree names ideal candidate who can face Pereira

This week in the UFC Fight Night (UFC Vegas 78), a mouth-watering action is set to take over. In the main event, Vicente Luque will be up against Rafael dos Anjos. It is a stacked-up card and our focus is on the co-main event, which is the Light Heavyweight fight between Khalil Rountree and Chris Daukaus.

The newsmaker

Ahead of the UFC fight night, Republicworld.com had an exclusive chat with Khalil Rountree, who is looking to attain another win in the Light Heavyweight division. In the conversation, Khalil expressed his views on the challenges he could face against Chris Daukaus. Plus, he also shed light on who could be the contender for the Light Heavyweight title along with Alex Pereira. 

Excerpts

Q. You will be up against Charis Daukaus at the week's UFC fight night. What are your thoughts on the fight?

I think it's a good match-up. It was a long time coming after the fight being postponed, overall I think it's a great match-up for me.  

Q. You had a terrific last two years in the UFC, and this year might turn out to be equally good. So, how are you planning to keep the winning momentum going?

What I've been doing is just making sure that I stay consistent in my training. Just continue to elevate and expand on whatever tools I already have and also add some new ones, sharpen up, and learn the things that I am not so good at. Just continue to add to the skill set so that I can be prepared.

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Q. While you have been steeler inside the UFC lately, your opponent is on a 3-fight skid. He is now coming down the weight ladder to fight you. So, how challenging it would be to fight a seasoned Heavyweight player, specifically when he is seemingly in a do-or-die situation?

The challenges, I imagine that challenge would be he's probably very hungry for a win to stop the skid and come down the weight class, I imagine that he's coming down with a bit of strength. I think in UFC every fight is a challenge and I feel like as I continue to progress and climb the ranks the challenges just grow. So, the challenge is that I am going up against a hungry guy, who is used to fighting bigger guys. 

Q. We’ll talk more about your fight, but I could not help but take a trip down memory lane. You made a name for yourself with that extraordinary oblique kick KO. As a viewer of the sport, I would say it was a thing of beauty, never saw it happening before, but it’s something you want to see again and again. Forget about the desire of the fight enthusiasts. As a fighter, tell us how often have you finished the fight with that move and how difficult it is to pull it off to cause that effect.

That was my first time attempting it and ever finishing a fight with it. As far as the difficulty to pull off, it's not really something that I planned so I can't tell if it was difficult or not. I think it was just something that happened in the moment. I think it was just the right time for it. I didn't really strategically plan for that. 

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Q. How did the training go for the fight?

Phenomenal! Since my last fight, I took a little bit of a break, but I started training for a fight in February. I've had a long year of just training, trying to grow and trying to develop and build my skills to championship level. So, I have nothing but good things and good feelings about my training. 

Q. Will we see you attempting a submission this weekend?

It's definitely possible, if the fight leads itself to there, you can, I am sure there will be some type of attempt. If that's where the fight leads us, absolutely, like I said I've been whatever I can to make sure I am elevating every level of my game because I want to fight at a championship level, and you gotta be well-rounded to be able to do that. 

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Q. With Jamal Hill relinquishing the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, and Alex Pereira getting the hard-fought victory at UFC 291, in your opinion, what is next in the division? Who is going to be the next champion and, more importantly, who will be the other contender for the title besides Pereira?

I think Nikita Krylov definitely has a lot of potential to be the next contender and definitely be a title holder for sure. Right now, he's the guy that most likely be next up and has the potential. 

*Watch the LIVE coverage of UFC Fight Night - Luque vs Dos Anjos on Sony Sports Ten 2 (English), Sony Sports Ten 3 (Hindi) and Sony Sports Ten 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels at 4:30 AM IST on 13th August 2023.