Former foe of Alex Pereira admits he was happy after KO loss to UFC star: ‘I was where I belong’
Off the back of his championship charge against Alex Pereira just months ago, Khalil Rountree has claimed he was “happy” throughout his gruelling fight with the Brazilian in the main event of UFC 307, receiving backing that he knew he was where he “belonged” in the light heavyweight pile.
Challenging the undisputed light heavyweight champion and former middleweight titleholder, Syndicate MMA staple, Rountree succumbed to an eventual fourth round knockout loss to the Sao Paulo punisher, where he was stopped with a barrage of strikes at the Octagon fence.
Khalil Rountree claims he was “happy” throughout title loss to Alex Pereira
Left bloodied and battered by Pereira after an impressive charge against him, Rountree admitted this week that despite becoming the latest in a long-list of contenders to suffer defeat to the dominant Brazilian, he was “happy” throughout the pairing in Salt Lake City.
“So in the locker room, I was very relaxed to the point to where I asked my coach like I’m very relaxed,” Khalil Rountree told Fight Energy Films during a recent video. “Like is that okay? And he’s like, yeah, it’s perfect when I was in the cage and he (Alex Pereira) was walking out, the only thing I can really remember is just being happy — even the moment when I got finished in the fourth round like I just felt so happy throughout that whole fight.
“It felt like I was where I belong like I felt like I belong there,” Alex Pereira continued. “It was really like living and living in a dream.”
Yet to be booked for his return to action, prior to his title charge against Pereira, Ultimate Fighter alum, Pereira had turned in notable victories over the likes of former title challenger, Anthony Smith, as well as Dustin Jacoby, Karl Roberson, and Modestas Bukauskas.
