Khalil Rountree Jr., a light heavyweight in the UFC, has the support of his coach to win another title in the organization.
For the first time since his outstanding performance against Alex Pereira, Khalil Rountree Jr. will enter the cage tonight. Even though he was unable to unseat “Poatan,” he performed a performance that, as if they didn’t already know it, convinced everyone that he is a true threat in the light heavyweight class.
However, Rountree Jr. will face former champion Jamahal Hill in UFC Baku’s main event this evening. Although it’s a completely different kind of combat, he will be able to demonstrate his striking ability.
His coach, John Wood, recently gave an explanation of why he can envision a future in which Rountree Jr. contends for the championship once more in the near future.
Wood’s perspective on Rountree Jr
“The UFC, we all know, rankings and all that shit don’t mean anything. It’s what the UFC wants,” Wood told MMA Fighting. “It’s what the fans [want] or what they think is going to sell. They’re going to ride the hot hand. Again, that’s why O’Malley [got the Merab Dvalishvili rematch]. He was the hottest hand still left available, still standing and ready to do this.
“Khalil’s got a very hot hand right now. I think we go out there [and win], it’s even hotter. I think that’s a real big possibility we might get that next shot.”
“No one likes to lose,” Wood said. “If you’re going to lose, the best way to lose was the way that he lost to Pereira. We just saw [this after UFC 315], I think Belal’s [Muhammad] stock actually might have gone up for that loss [to Jack Della Maddalena]. He lost a belt so that sucks for him, no one wants to do that but he went out and showed some different things and had a banger of a fight with a guy. So I think you’ve got people looking at him in a different way too.
“I think sometimes just going out there and fighting your ass off is just as good if you’re able to have that great performance. I think you’ll see Khalil fighting for the belt real quick in the near future.”
Quotes via MMA Fighting
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