Khalil Rountree Jr has shared more photos of the damage caused to his face by Alex Pereira at UFC 307.
The No.8 ranked light heavyweight was propelled to a championship fight for the first time in his career on Saturday night, but he wasn’t able to get the shock win.
Rountree took some serious damage in his fight with PereiraGetty
As expected, the fight didn’t go the distance, but many UFC fans credited Rountree’s bravery for staying in the fight as long as he did.
With his gas tank drawing, Pereira started to cause some serious damage to the American in the championship rounds.
One jab from Pereira was even deemed one of the most brutal in MMA history, as it caused Rountree’s face to gush with blood all over the octagon.
UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier even shared a photo of Rountree’s blood that had leaked onto his phone positioned on the commentary table from the octagon,
Pereira’s win was his third consecutive title defence in the UFC, which equalled current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev’s streak. That also meant he set a new record for the shortest time between UFC title defences.
Ronda Rousey defended her women’s bantamweight title inside 189 days during her championship reign, but Pereira undercut the UFC legend by 14 days.
Rountree was forced to undergo a septoplasty surgery following a deviated nasal septum he suffered during his brawl with Pereira.
The 34-year-old took to his Instagram account, sharing a picture with the caption: ‘Septoplasty is the worst surgery on the planet! Pure pain.’
MMA fans continued their praise of the Las Vegas native, who truly fought his heart out in the main event at UFC 307.
One said: “Proud of you Khalil. You are a true warrior.”
Rountree said his septoplasty surgery was pure pain@Khalilrountree
And a second added: “True warrior. Respect.”
Rountree discussed the surgery and tried to recall which of Pereira’s punches caused the injury in an interview with Kevin Iole.
“I don’t know exactly what punch, but I know the last uppercut after the body shots definitely landed on my nose, but I already felt some pain in my head,” he said.
“It could’ve been from that, but after we got the scans and everything the night of the fight, 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.
“Every scar that I have, every bump, it’s all worth it. For me to have worked this hard to get to the point of fighting Alex [Pereira] in a main event for a title, everything that came with it was absolutely worth it. I wouldn’t change one thing.”
UFC 307 drew an attendance of 17,487 and a live gate of $5,005,643.
Pereira’s relentless onslaught eventually led to Rountree bowing outGetty
Rountree revealed in the build-up to his fight the hardship he had to endure as a toddler after the passing of his father.
He added that after his dad, who was once Muhammad Ali’s personal bodyguard, passed away, he went on a ‘path of self-destruction’.
‘The War Horse’ further admitted to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day, while regularly drinking alcohol. So, it is pretty remarkable to see how far the American has come in such a short period of time.
