Khalil Rountree continues to handle his UFC 307 defeat with class.

Although Rountree (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) gave an interview in the cage Saturday at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, as he nearly bled all over commentator Joe Rogan, he did not post anything on social media until Sunday.

In a lengthy written statement, Rountree thanked Alex Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) for the intense back-and-forth battle their shared together and indicated he discovered a lot about himself over the course of the fight.

“I didn’t win the title but I grew last night,” Rountree wrote on Instagram. “@alexpoatanpereira thanks for helping me see that I’m ready to take on the world. You showed amazing skill, you brought out a version of me that I needed to experience. You’re the champ for a reason, much respect. But I now know what I am capable of.”

Rountree lost his first UFC title fight by fourth-round TKO, but had strong moments in the first two rounds despite his status as a heavy betting underdog. He was praised across social media by fans for his heart, courage and moments of success in the fight.

“#saltlakecity you guys were amazing and gave me such a memorable experience,” Rountree continued. “I appreciate all of the positive messages from everyone around the world. @danawhite @espn @espnmma and the entire @ufc staff, thanks for giving me a home, a place to have purpose and providing me with challenges to overcome. Big thanks to my wife @miakang, my family (Donny, Dave, P, all of my uncles and aunts, The Pavlica’s, the Ramseys, Everyone) for your unconditional support. Brazil 🇧🇷 you guys have a strong champion, be proud.

“I will take time to heal from this, I’ll be back even better, it’s inevitable. I’m grateful. Never give up on yourself, always fight hard, uplift your communities and find ways to make the most out of life. @deltacenter thanks for hosting us. #ufc307 was a night to remember.”

Rountree, 34, had won five fights in a row to earn his title shot. Given the damage (some of it very visible) sustained Saturday, it’s unclear when he will return. Whenever he does, Rountree will almost certainly do so with a following.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Real Madrid might make a January move for Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool look at extending two deals, and Paul Pogba is set for a fresh start away from Juventus.

Real Madrid had planned to sign England right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, 25, on a free transfer next summer when his contract with Liverpool expires, but might move for him in January after Spain defender Dani Carvajal, 32, sustained a serious knee injury. (Sport – in Spanish), external

Liverpool are progressing with contract talks for two key defenders – 21-year-old Jarell Quansah and France centre-back Ibrahima Konate, 25. (Mirror), external

Paul Pogba, 31, is in talks with Juventus aimed at ending his second stint with the Serie A club and making a fresh start after his doping ban was reduced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. (Mail), external

Wolves do not intend to sack manager Gary O’Neil and will give him time to turn his side’s fortunes around after six defeats from their opening seven Premier League games. (Telegraph), external

Manchester City have set aside £80m to spend on players in the January transfer window after Rodri’s season-ending injury. (Football Insider, external)

West Ham are interested in bringing former Leicester and Newcastle forward Ayoze Perez back to the Premier League in the hope the 31-year-old Villarreal player can improve their attacking options. (Caught Offside), external

Former Barcelona manager Xavi ​​is seen as the ideal choice to lead a reconstruction project at Old Trafford should Erik ten Hag leave Manchester United. (El Nacional – in Spanish), external

Newcastle United’s attempts to sign Lille striker Jonathan David, 24, have been dealt a blow after Barcelona entered the bidding. (Shields Gazette), external

Liverpool have joined Newcastle and Tottenham in the race to sign 26-year-old attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace. (Football Insider), external

Barcelona are monitoring Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane, 28, who is out of contract at the end of the season. (Sport – in Spanish), external

Premier League clubs including Arsenal, Wolves, Everton and Chelsea have been monitoring Santos’ 18-year-old Brazilian defender Joao Pedro Chermont. (Caught Offside), external

Julianna Pena had the chance to start promoting her next title defense after reclaiming the women’s bantamweight title at UFC 307 but instead turned her attention to an unlikely rematch against a fighter who is currently retired.

Following a controversial win over Raquel Pennington in the UFC 307 co-main event, Pena was asked about what’s next for her and a split screen showed Kayla Harrison backstage waiting to react after she defeated Ketlen Vieira earlier in the night to earn a title shot. Rather than acknowledge Harrison, who the UFC is pretty clearly naming as the No. 1 contender, Pena asked for a trilogy against Amanda Nunes, who called it a career back in June 2023.

“I will say this — she dropped the ball on the callout,” UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier said when addressing Pena after UFC 307 ended. “I mean Kayla’s on the screen. Say her name. Why no sell the person that is clearly going to be your No. 1 contender?

“There is no world where she does not fight Kayla Harrison. She’s fighting her next. You might as well put the sell on it.”

Harrison moved to 2-0 in the UFC with a unanimous decision win over Vieira in the opening bout on the main card on Saturday. While not as dominant as her debut performance against former champion Holly Holm at UFC 300, Harrison still delivered a win against one of the UFC’s top ranked challengers to cement her spot as the rightful contender at 135 pounds.

During the broadcast, Harrison could only shake her head in disappointment as Pena called for the Nunes fight despite UFC color commentator Joe Rogan specifically mentioning the two-time Olympic gold medalist as her most likely next opponent.

Cormier believes Pena should have started building towards that fight now rather than waiting because there’s almost no world where Harrison isn’t her next opponent.

“Don’t wait until the fight is announced,” Cormier said. “Now you’re a step behind when you had the opportunity to be a step ahead going into your fight with Kayla Harrison, who will be the No. 1 contender for your championship as we go forward.

“Tonight, it’s not like Kayla Harrison looked the best. Kayla’s looked better. Tonight she looked like a girl that needs to get takedowns and if she doesn’t, she is still in the very early stages of her striking. Julianna Pena should’ve after this performance been more willing to say her name.”

While he wasn’t a fan of her callout, Cormier did offer congratulations to Pena on becoming a two-time champion with her win over Pennington.

As much as the scorecards came into question after the fight, Cormier still praised Pena for putting on a gutsy performance and bringing a title back to the same gym that UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad calls home.

“The one thing you can never question about Julianna Pena is her toughness,” Cormier said. “She will be a deserving champion.

“At the end of the day, she becomes the champion again and Mike Valle and his team out at Valle Flow now have two UFC champions on their roster. Massive for a gym that is out of Chicago that isn’t a massive, huge gym.”

Khalil Rountree Jr. didn’t come away with the win in his attempt at becoming light heavyweight champion at UFC 307 but he still walked away with some valuable lessons.

That’s the message Rountree relayed in his first statement after falling to Alex Pereira via fourth round knockout to cap off the latest pay-per-view card from Salt Lake City. Despite a valiant effort to pull off the upset, Rountree came up short but still showed a ton of heart while battling it out with one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in sport.

“I didn’t win the title but I grew last night,” Rountree wrote on Instagram. “Alex Pereira, thanks for helping me see that I’m ready to take on the world. You showed amazing skill, you brought out a version of me that I needed to experience. You’re the champ for a reason, much respect. But I now know what I am capable of.”

While he wasn’t necessarily considered the No. 1 contender when he got the fight, Rountree certainly made the most of the opportunity.

He came out guns blazing as soon as the fight started and attempted to take Pereira’s head off in almost every exchange. Unfortunately as time passed, Rountree started to run out of gas and Pereira took over.

By the time the fourth round was nearing an end, Pereira had busted up Rountree so badly that he had blood just pouring down his face and chest. The final sequence saw Pereira deliver a pair of vicious punches to the body before one last uppercut that dropped Rountree to the canvas.

The referee immediately swooped in to stop the fight before Rountree took any further damage.

Thanks to several gnarly cuts that he suffered during the fight, Rountree was immediately taken to a local hospital for treatment so outside of his post-fight interview, he didn’t get a chance to address his performance until Sunday.

“Brazil, you guys have a strong champion, be proud,” Rountree said. “I will take time to heal from this, I’ll be back even better, it’s inevitable. I’m grateful. Never give up on yourself, always fight hard, uplift your communities and find ways to make the most out of life.”

Even in defeat, Rountree raised his stock with that kind of fight and it’s tough to imagine he won’t have another big opportunity awaiting him when he competes again.