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Khalil Rountree Jr.

Khalil Ibn Rountree Jr. (born February 6, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 28, 2025, he is #4 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings.

Background

Rountree was born in Los Angeles, California. When he was two years old, his father was shot and killed in an attempted robbery while working as the tour manager for Boyz II Men. Before he started training in MMA, Rountree would avidly attend Hardcore music concerts. He stated in an interview "that was a safe space to just let out my rage because it's not okay to do it at home and do it on the streets. There was just no space for me to let out that rage, so hardcore was a safe space for me."

After one year of MMA training, Rountree started his MMA amateur career in 2011. Before his UFC 236 fight against Eryk Anders, Rountree trained in Thailand, focusing on Muay Thai.

Mixed martial arts career

Resurrection Fighting Alliance

Rountree had a record of 6–1 in his amateur fights, competing as a Middleweight under the Tuff-N-Uff and King of the Cage (KOTC) banners.

Rountree made his professional debut, as a light heavyweight, with Resurrection Fighting Alliance against Livingston Lukow at RFA 15 on June 6, 2014. Rountree won the fight by unanimous decision.

Rountree was scheduled to face Blake Troop in a 190 lbs catchweight bout at RFA 21 on December 5, 2014. Rountree won the fight by a first-round knockout, after just 39 seconds.

Rountree made his middleweight debut against Cameron Olson at RFA 25 on April 10, 2015. Rountree won the fight by a unanimous decision.

Rountree made his final appearance with RFA against Justin Polendey at RFA 33 on December 11, 2015. Rountree won the fight by first-round knockout.

The Ultimate Fighter

In April 2016, Rountree competed as a fighter on . In the first round, he faced Muhammed DeReese and won via knockout. In the elimination round, he faced Cory Hendricks and lost via submission in the first round.

Later in the show, Hendricks withdrew himself from the competition due to neck injury and Dana White decided to bring back Rountree for the semi-final round. Rountree moved on to faced Josh Stansbury and won via knockout in the first round to advance and face Andrew Sanchez at the finale.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Rountree made his promotional debut on July 8, 2016, at UFC for the TUF 23 Light Heavyweight title against Andrew Sanchez. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Rountree next faced Tyson Pedro at on November 27, 2016. He was submitted via rear-naked choke in round one.

On his third fight Rountree faced Daniel Jolly at on February 4, 2017. He won via knockout in the first round.

Rountree faced Paul Craig on July 16, 2017, at . He won the fight via knockout in the first round.

Rountree was expected to face Gökhan Saki on December 30, 2017, at UFC 219. However, Saki was forced to pull out, citing knee injury, and was replaced by Michał Oleksiejczuk. Rountree lost the fight by unanimous decision. However, after the fight, it was revealed that Oleksiejczuk had tested positive for clomiphene, an anti-estrogenic substance. As a result, the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) officially overturned the result of the fight to a no contest.

The bout between Rountree and Gökhan Saki eventually took place at UFC 226 on July 7, 2018. Rountree won the fight via knockout in round one. This fight earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Rountree faced promotional newcomer Johnny Walker on November 17, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 140. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Rountree faced Eryk Anders on April 13, 2019, at UFC 236. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Rountree faced Ion Cuțelaba on September 28, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 160. He lost via TKO in the first round.

Rountree was expected to face Sam Alvey on March 28, 2020, at . Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was eventually postponed.

Despite talks of retiring after the scrapped bout with Alvey, Rountree signed a contract extension with the UFC in October 2020.

Rountree faced Marcin Prachnio on January 24, 2021 at UFC 257. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Rountree faced Modestas Bukauskas on September 4, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 191. He won the fight via TKO in round two after catching Bukauskas with an oblique kick, marking the first time the technique had been used to finish a fight in the UFC.

Rountree faced Karl Roberson on March 12, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 203. Rountree won the fight via TKO in round two. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Rountree faced Dustin Jacoby on October 29, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 213. He won the fight via split decision which people labeled as controversial. 14 out of 16 media outlets scored the bout for Jacoby.

Rountree was scheduled to face Chris Daukaus on June 10, 2023, at UFC 289. However, on June 2, 2023, it was revealed that Daukaus suffered injury and was pulled from the card. The bout with Daukaus was rescheduled for August 12, 2023 at . Rountree won the fight via technical knockout in round one. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Rountree was scheduled to face Azamat Murzakanov on December 2, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 52. However, Murzakanov suffered from symptoms related to Pneumonia and was removed from the event, and Rountree was instead booked to face Anthony Smith one week later at UFC Fight Night 233. Rountree won the fight via technical knockout in round three. This fight earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Rountree was scheduled to face former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill at UFC 303 on June 29, 2024. However, Rountree was forced to withdraw from the event due to taking a banned substance, and was replaced by Carlos Ulberg. Rountree was subsequently suspended by the CSAD for 2 months from May 4 to July 4, 2024, from competing after unintentionally ingesting tainted supplements - Exogenous origin of 5a-androstanediol, 5b-androstanediol and androsterone.

Rountree faced Alex Pereira for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship on October 5, 2024, at UFC 307. He lost the fight by technical knockout in the fourth round. This fight earned him his first Fight of the Night award.

Rountree was scheduled to face former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jamahal Hill on April 26, 2025, in the main event at UFC on ESPN 66. However, Hill had to withdraw due to a leg injury, so the bout was scrapped. The bout was rescheduled and headlined UFC on ABC 8 on June 21, 2025. Rountree won the fight by unanimous decision.

Rountree faced former champion Jiří Procházka on October 4, 2025 at UFC 320. He lost the fight by knockout in the third round. This fight earned him another Fight of the Night award.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

|- |Loss |align=center|14–7 (1) |Jiří Procházka |KO (punches) |UFC 320 | |align=center|3 |align=center|3:04 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|14–6 (1) |Jamahal Hill |Decision (unanimous) | | |align=center|5 |align=center|5:00 |Baku, Azerbaijan | |- |Loss |align=center|13–6 (1) |Alex Pereira |TKO (punches) |UFC 307 | |align=center|4 |align=center|4:32 |Salt Lake City, Utah, United States | |- |Win |align=center|13–5 (1) |Anthony Smith |TKO (punches) | | |align=center|3 |align=center|0:56 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|12–5 (1) |Chris Daukaus |TKO (punches) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:40 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|11–5 (1) |Dustin Jacoby |Decision (split) | | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center| |Karl Roberson |TKO (body kick and punches) | | |align=center|2 |align=center|0:25 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|9–5 (1) |Modestas Bukauskas |TKO (leg kick) | | |align=center|2 |align=center|2:30 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|8–5 (1) |Marcin Prachnio |Decision (unanimous) |UFC 257 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |- |Loss |align=center|8–4 (1) |Ion Cuțelaba |TKO (elbows) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:35 |Copenhagen, Denmark | |- |Win |align=center|8–3 (1) |Eryk Anders |Decision (unanimous) |UFC 236 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Atlanta, Georgia, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|7–3 (1) |Johnny Walker |KO (elbow) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|1:57 |Buenos Aires, Argentina | |- |Win |align=center|7–2 (1) |Gökhan Saki |TKO (punches) |UFC 226 | |align=center|1 |align=center|1:36 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |NC |align=center|6–2 (1) |Michał Oleksiejczuk |NC (overturned) |UFC 219 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|6–2 |Paul Craig |KO (punches) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|4:56 |Glasgow, Scotland | |- | Win | align=center| 5–2 | Daniel Jolly | KO (knee) | | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 0:52 | Houston, Texas, United States | |- |Loss | align=center| 4–2 | Tyson Pedro | Submission (rear-naked choke) | | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 4:07 | Melbourne, Australia | |- | Loss | align=center| 4–1 | Andrew Sanchez | Decision (unanimous) | | | align=center| 3 | align=center| 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- | Win | align=center| 4–0 | Justin Polendey | KO (punch) | RFA 33 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 1:42 | Costa Mesa, California, United States | |- | Win | align=center| 3–0 | Cameron Olson | Decision (unanimous) | RFA 25 | | align=center| 3 | align=center| 5:00 | Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States | |- | Win | align=center| 2–0 | Blake Troop | KO (punch) | RFA 21 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 0:39 | Costa Mesa, California, United States | |- | Win | align=center| 1–0 | Livingston Lukow | Decision (unanimous) | RFA 15 | | align=center| 3 | align=center| 5:00 | Culver City, California, United States | |-

|- |Win |align=center|2–1 |Josh Stansbury |TKO (punches) |rowspan=3| | (airdate) |align=center|1 |align=center|4:15 |rowspan=3|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|1–1 |Cory Hendricks |Submission (rear-naked choke) | (airdate) |align=center|1 |align=center|2:34 | |- |Win |align=center|1–0 |Muhammed Dereese |TKO (punches and soccer kicks to the body) | (airdate) |align=center|2 |align=center|0:38 | |-

|- |Win |align=center| 6–0 |Dylan Jahrling |KO (punch) |Tuff-N-Uff: Future Stars of MMA 20 | |align=center|1 |align=center|1:47 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |<small>Won the Tuff-N-Uff Amateur Middleweight Championship.</small> |- |Win |align=center| 5–0 |Lee Cordova |Submission (guillotine choke) |Tuff-N-Uff: Festibrawl 6 | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:49 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center| 4–0 |Prentice Williams |Decision (unanimous) |Tuff-N-Uff: Knock Out Cancer 2 | |align=center|3 |align=center|3:00 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center| 3–0 |Giovani Zavala |TKO (knee and punches) |Tuff-N-Uff: Beauties and Beasts | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:30 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center| 2–0 |Niels Berlemann |KO (punch) |KOTC: Future Legends 2 | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:16 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center| 1–0 |Travis Jelmyer |TKO (punches) |Tuff-N-Uff: Future Stars of MMA 15 | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:21 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |-

Pay-per-view bouts

Personal life

On January 1, 2024, Mia Kang and Rountree married in an intimate ceremony in Thailand.

See also

References

External links