Khalil Rountree isn’t harboring any animosity towards Sean Strickland after he received an apology from the former UFC middleweight champion.
The friction between the fighters dates back to a video Strickland posted on social media where he blasted Rountree for several alleged altercations that happened while they were training together. Strickland even claimed that Rountree called the UFC to complain about him after he made an off-handed remark about his ex-girlfriend.
“If you met him, you would hate him,” Strickland said. “You need to trust me on this, he sucks.”
On Wednesday ahead of his fight at UFC 307, Rountree addressed light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira bringing in Strickland as a training partner to prepare for him. That bit of strategy didn’t bother him, but Rountree revealed that he actually received an apology from Strickland when they ran into each other a few months ago.
“Honestly, the last interaction that I had with Sean Strickland was at the UFC [Performance Institute], it was literally the day after Dan Ige stepped in that fight [on] like three hours, four hours’ notice or something like that,” Rountree said during UFC 307 media day. “I was going into the P.I., I saw Dan Ige, walked right up to him, gave him his props for having balls of steel just going in there on such short notice.
“Out of the blue, Sean Strickland comes up to me. He approached me and just said ‘Khalil, I apologize, I’m a dumb ass, I actually kind of like you. I think you’re a liberal but overall, I like you or respect you.’ Something along those lines.”
The conversation ended with Rountree acknowledging that Strickland was sorry for what he said in the past and he’s not worried much about what might be said in the future.
If anything, Rountree was happy to put the turmoil behind him.
“What I took it as was almost like squashing whatever beef,” Rountree said. “Just saying I am who I am, I’m going to say what I’m going to say, but I’m coming here to personally shake your hand and tell you I think you’re a liberal, but to a certain level, I respect you. It was like that. I took it as you’re coming here to make the peace and I kind of left it at that.
“Now anything moving forward, anything that’s said or whatever, I got that stored in my memory bank. So I know that there’s really no issue. It’s really just talk and I won’t concern myself with it.”
When it comes to his title fight this weekend, Rountree was obviously thankful for the UFC for the opportunity but he hasn’t paid much attention to the reaction afterwards.
There has been some criticism that Rountree didn’t actually do enough to earn a shot at UFC gold, especially with a proven top-five contender like Magomed Ankalaev waiting in the wings.
It turns out none of that bothered Rountree too much because he hasn’t even seen it.
“I didn’t pay attention,” Rountree said. “I’ve got no space, I’ve got no time for other people’s opinions. Look, I’m fighting for the title on Saturday. As soon as I got the news, that was all that I’ve been focused on. If it upsets people, it’s none of my business.
“My business is to do what the UFC calls me to do. Everyone’s going to have opinions even after this. I can’t let it be my concern.”
If there’s one aspect to the fight that Rountree has embraced it’s the potential storyline about him taking out another world class kickboxer to become UFC champion.
He’s already beaten kickboxing legend Gokhan Saki and holds a win over GLORY kickboxing veteran Dustin Jacoby. Now Rountree faces a former GLORY champion in Pereira with a UFC title on the line.
“I think it’s kind of cool,” Rountree said. “It’s definitely a fun way to look at it, especially from a fan standpoint. If they see Alex as the final boss and I get to go and take my shot at the final boss. I think it’s really cool.
“I think it adds excitement. It adds interest and anticipation. So yeah, I’d like to entertain it.”
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SALT LAKE CITY – UFC 307 took place Saturday with 12 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the card at Delta Center.
You can hear from all the UFC 307 winners by checking out their individual post-fight news conferences below.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer analyses Fulham’s “so many missed chances” in their 3-2 defeat by Manchester City in the Premier League.
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Former women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza hoped for the storybook ending at UFC 307. While she didn’t get it, she now leaves the sport with a decorated and historic legacy.
On Saturday’s prelims at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Esparza (20-8 MMA, 10-6 UFC) lost a unanimous decision to Tecia Pennington (13-7 MMA, 9-7 UFC). The scorecards were 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27.
The fight was fast-paced, exciting, and close. Esparza worked all facets of her game, while Torres found tremendous success with leg kicks that debilitated Esparza by the bout’s end. Esparza scored a late takedown and some big ground-and-pound blows in the final seconds of Round 3, but it wasn’t enough to steal her the fight.
Upon the decision reading, the crowd voiced their displeasure with the decision as they drowned out Pennington’s post-fight speech with boos.
When it was time for Esparza to have the microphone, the crowd cheered in appreciation. With her young son dressed as Cookie Monster from “Sesame Street” in her arms, Esparza and UFC commentator Joe Rogan shared an emotional moment as the promotion played her a tribute highlight compilation on the big screen.
Laying down her gloves for the final time 🥹 #UFC307 pic.twitter.com/LjgzZ0pwyC
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 5, 2024
Esparza, 36, retires after 14 years of professional fighting, including nearly a decade in the UFC. She was the first-ever UFC women’s strawweight champion, winning gold in the “TUF 20” Finale against Rose Namajunas. She lost the title in her following bout against Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
It took Esparza seven years and 11 fights to get back to a championship opportunity for a second time. Once there, she made the most of it, though, as she defeated Rose Namajunas by split decision at UFC 274 in May 2022.
Like her first reign, the second ended without a title defense. She lost to Zhang Weili in her defense attempt at UFC 281 in November 2022.
After the loss, Esparza stepped away from fighting to give birth to her son, Donovan. Upon the initial announcement of Saturday’s bout, Esparza revealed the fight would be her last.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 307 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
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Check out the best photos from Court McGee’s first-round submission win over Tim Means at UFC 307 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. (Fight and venue photos by Jeff Swinger, USA Today Sports)
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
Court McGee got the job done at home when he arguably needed to most.
At UFC 307, McGee (22-13 MMA, 11-12 UFC) opened the card at Delta Center on Saturday and defeated Tim Means by submission via rear-naked choke at 3:19 of Round 1.
McGee’s game plan appeared to be executed to a tee. He dragged Means (33-17-1 MMA, 15-14 UFC) from the clinch to the ground, largely avoiding damage, and worked for the back of Means, which he eventually found.
After he got both hooks in, McGee wrapped his hand around Means’ neck and squeezed. While it may have been more of a neck crank than a choke, McGee got the tap nonetheless.
THE CRUSHER IN FRONT OF THE HOME CROWD 😤@Court_McGee secures the RNC in the first round! #UFC307 pic.twitter.com/Md8KSF56YT
— UFC (@ufc) October 5, 2024
The finish was McGee’s first since UFC 121 in October 2010. The win snapped a three-fight losing skid for the 39-year-old.
Means, 40, falls to 1-5 in his most recent six.
The up-to-the-minute UFC 307 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
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