Khalil Rountree Jr. has had a life full of struggles. Losing his father at a tender age, the light heavyweight fighter found peace under his mother’s protection. Rountree’s elder stepbrother, Donavon Frelow, also took on the mantle and guided Rountree to become the man that he is today. While ‘The War Horse’ has found immense success in the realm of mixed martial arts, Frelow lagged a bit and hasn’t fought since his last defeat in 2021. So, how did Frelow pull his younger brother into the MMA realm?

Meet Donavon Frelow, Khalil Rountree’s Stepbrother 

Rountree’s father used to manage Boyz II Men. However, the tour manager was sh*t d*ad in an attempted robbery. This incident happened when ‘The War Horse’ was just 2 years old, in 1992, which brought him to his stepbrother, Donavon Frelow. Both boys never really knew their fathers; it was in fact, their mother who brought them up. Frelow was the one who introduced Rountree to mixed martial arts. But before he himself became a fighter, ‘Donny Boy’ secured his position as a successful football player.

But after a failed attempt at college followed by a period of struggle, the brothers landed themselves in the MMA world. It was indeed his mother’s hard work that inspired him to become a professional fighter. Rountree’s brother was born and brought up in West LA. The place was filled with violence and had quite an impact on a young Frelow. When Khalil Rountree Sr. entered his life, he became the main male figure and provided for the family. But the loss of his stepfather was a blow that he would never forget. 

Frelow was only 7 when it happened. Reflecting back on the past, he said, “He was the one giving me guidance and wisdom from a male point of view. My brother (Rountree) didn’t even really get to know his father, and I also didn’t grow up with my father.” But soon his uncle entered his life and became the male role model for the former fighter. He introduced his nephew to the sporting world. 

But even that period was short-lived, as his mother was forced to move to Vegas to aid an ailing grandmother. That was where Frelow began his career in football and even got the chance to join Feather River College in Quincy. However, a year later, he returned to his family in hopes of providing for the ones he loved the most. And that was where he kickstarted his career as a sanctioned fighter. Do you know how Frelow turned an overweight Rountree into the fighter he is today? 

Donavon Frelow changed Khalil Rountree’s life around 

When they were kids, the brothers used to play an MMA game on their Sega Dreamcast that featured fighters from the PRIDE Fighting Championship. And it was none other than the character of Wanderlei Silva that kept the older brother reeled in. No doubt, Rountree was also a fan of the MMA game, but it was just the beginning of the story. More than a decade later, Frelow happened to enter the gym where Silva trained himself. And he was hooked once again. Frelow said, “I was like a kid who found out there was Disneyland in Vegas.” It was indeed Wanderlei Silva who helped him out with one of the classes.

Now, let’s turn the spotlight on to ‘The War Horse’ when he was `19 years old. That was the time when his life went out of control and spiraled downward. Talking to Ariel Helwani back in 2022, Rountree revealed that as a 19YO, he weighed 305 pounds, smoked 2 packets of cigarettes every day, drank nothing but soda, and took pills from anyone taking them. He simply didn’t care what the pills were for. After he did have suicidal thoughts. Living in a 1-bedroom apartment with his mother, brother, niece, and sister, and struggling to pay $750 as rent had taken its toll on him.

But things began to change when Rountree caught Frelow watching Quinton Jackson’s fight in TUF. The light heavyweight #8 said, “I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s what I want to do.’ …. It was a a mixture of being exposed to MMA and a feeling of just wanting to explode or give up. That was at 19 and that’s when I decided I’m gonna start.” Would you like to make guesses on where Rountree began his training? If you’re thinking of the gym where Silva trained, you’d be absolutely right! 

The first-ever martial arts form that Rountree dived into was Muay Thai. Needless to say, he gave it his all, and it was the turning point in his life. He said, “I remember that was the day that I got home and I threw out my packs of cigarettes and was like, ‘I can’t smoke if I’m gonna be doing this. It’s just so much on my lungs and I can’t breathe.’ That was just the start of it.” With consistent training for about 11 months, ‘The War Horse’ had lost about 100 pounds. And that was the time around which he made his debut as a fighter in the realm of mixed martial arts. 

Now, shifting our focus back to Frelow, what about Rountree’s stepbrother’s MMA profile? Let’s take a look at how Donavon Frelow fared during his tenure as a professional mixed martial artist.

What is Donavon Frelow’s MMA record?

Frelow began his MMA career in 2011 and fought under the banner of Tuff-N-Uff as an amateur. He fought 5 amateur bouts and didn’t face a single defeat. One interesting fact about his amateur MMA run is that his last 3 fights ended with him squeezing the air out of his opponent’s throat via a guillotine choke. The trend of the guillotine hold continued as he defeated his first opponent as a professional with the choke in the second round of the bout. 

Frelow went on to win 5 consecutive fights in the professional MMA realm before he faced his very first defeat at WSOF 24, against Magomed Bibulatov. The next fight ended with a split decision with the majority of the votes tilting in Frelow’s favor. However, he hung up his gloves in 2021 with a 4-fight losing streak. Frelow had a professional record of 6-5-0 and fought at WSOF, LFA, and even DWCS. 

Now, as Rountree gets ready to face Alex Pereira at UFC 307, he will surely receive support from Frelow. After all, October 5 will be the date when ‘The War Horse’ will get his chance to compete for the light heavyweight championship belt. It would indeed be a proud moment for the brothers, don’t you agree? Drop down to the comments section down below and let us know what you think of the relationship between Frelow and Rountree.