Khalil Rowntree was on the verge of retirement before his career really took off, according to John Wooden.
“I think it was his third or fourth fight, and he told me he wanted to retire and go into construction,” the Syndicate MMA coach recently told Daniel Cormier’s YouTube channel. “He was like, ‘Yeah, I think I got a good construction job, and I’d be getting paid.’ And I was like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, no no no.’ I was like, ‘Just give me a year. Give me a year and I promise I’ll support you with anything after that. Just hang in there for a year.’ And through that process, The Ultimate Fighter was born.”
It was a tough road for Rountree, with inconsistent results during his first five years with the UFC after appearing on Season 23 of The Ultimate Fighter, which led him to consider retirement again in late 2019, but ultimately changed his mind and extended his contract with the Las Vegas-based promotion.
UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr. Saturday at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN+. Order now!
“War Horse” has been on a roll since September 2021, winning five straight bouts (four of which were by KO or TKO) and earning the right to face light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 307 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on October 5. Over the years, Rountree expanded his horizons, even moving to Thailand to train, but eventually found his way back to Wood.
“There were good times and bad times and then after the Gokhan Saki fight he moved to Thailand. [at UFC 226]”And kind of found himself as a person and as a man. I think he was away for a few years and eventually he reached out to me. Since he came back, it’s been nothing but great things and we’ve had nothing but success. He’s really grown as a fighter,” Wood said.
