It’s not an excuse if you win.
Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger, Khalil Rountree Jr., blasted his way back into the win column with a commanding performance in the UFC Baku main event last weekend on ABC. But the 35 year-old “War Horse” nearly “crumbled” before his Jamahal Hill fight, thanks to a painful knee injury that brought a premature end to his training camp.
“About halfway through training camp, when I was training jiu-jitsu, was the first time I felt some discomfort in my knee, just training with bigger guys and doing four sessions per day on top of like running and jiu-jitsu and pads — that’s when I first started feeling the discomfort,” Rountree Jr. said on YouTube. “It only grew from there until one day I woke up and it was just really hard for me to walk and even stand, so I got it checked out and ended up having a torn meniscus. Once I found out what the injury was, it was only about three weeks from actual fight day, so it was obviously stressful.”
Even more stressful with his job as nightwatchman at stake.
“Initially I was devastated and not able to train how I really wanted to but it’s kind of a blessing in disguise because I came into the cage really fresh because I haven’t been able to spar in three weeks,” Rountree Jr. continued. “The last three weeks had just been recovery on top of getting sick during fight week. Had I not had such a positive, supportive group of coaches I don’t think I would have gotten this far and done it on my own, I think I would have crumbled. So, it all paid off.”
I guess all those magic tricks disappeared.
Rountree Jr. (14-6, 1 NC) is expected to replace Hill in the division Top 5 when the light heavyweight rankings are updated later this week. In addition, “War Horse” is likely to make his Octagon comeback before the end of the year … right around the same time this former champion returns.
For more UFC Baku news and results click here.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
