Khalil Rountree left UFC 307 with some gruesome battle scars.
Rountree was badly beaten in his attempt to take the UFC light heavyweight title from Alex Pereira this past Saturday in the main event of the card in Salt Lake City. It was a Fight of the Night winning contest where both fighters dished out damage, but unfortunately for Rountree, he took most of it.
Apart from the regular bumps and bruises that come with most fights in the UFC, Rountree revealed he suffered a deviated septum, and already went through a painful procedure to address it.
“I don’t know what punch, but I know that last uppercut before the body shots definitely landed on my nose, but I already had felt some pain in my head,” Rountree told Kevin Iole. “It could’ve been from that, but after we got the scans and everything the night of the fight, yeah, the doctors saw that there was some slight fracturing and a severely deviated septum, so we went right ahead and corrected that as soon as I got home.
“Definitely the most uncomfortable, painful procedure I’ve ever had last night. It was the hardest sleep. My mouth is constantly dry and just a constant headache. Inside my nose, my nasal cavities right now are just stuffed with sponges and splints. It’s very, very uncomfortable.”
Rountree (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) impressed many at UFC 307, as he fared well against Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC). He was up on all three judges’ scorecards prior to getting stopped in the fourth round. The two also put on one of the best UFC title fights of 2024.
For Rountree, there’s no second-guessing his career following the damage he sustained at UFC 307. It was all worth it.
“Every scar that I have, every bump, it’s all worth it,” Rountree said. “For me to have worked this hard to get to the point of fighting Alex in a main event for a title, everything that came with it was absolutely worth it. I wouldn’t change one thing.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.
