Khalil Rountree Jr. walked into the Delta Center on October 5, hoping to dethrone the light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Even though he put on a valiant effort with Pereira’s hands left hurting after the fourth-round KO win, Rountree Jr. was humbled and learned a lesson, something which he admitted later. But could ‘The War Horse’ have done better? Well, he believes he could have.

Khalil Rountree Jr. had come to UFC 307 on the back of five consecutive wins and even took an early lead in the fight demonstrating his boxing skills. But the ‘Poatan’ hit back with calf kicks that seemed like an early warning sign. Through their four-round fight, Rountree Jr. kept coming at Pereira, but the defending champion had all the answers and a series of punches in the penultimate round ended the contest in his favor.

Surprisingly, Rountree Jr., known for his striking with a background in Muay Thai, failed to utilize his most potent weapon- his kicking game. This is something UFC commentator Joe Rogan pointed out during the fight.

Rountree Jr. only learned about his mistake when he rewatched the fight and heard Rogan mention his lack of using kicks against Pereira.   “The biggest takeaway from now in the rest of my fighting career [is that] I’m gonna kick more,” Khalil Rountree Jr. told ‘Fight Energy Films’ in a recent interview. “I was so mad that I didn’t throw as many kicks as I wanted to… and even watching it over again, and hearing Joe Rogan say like, ‘Oh, Khalil usually kicks more,’ and I was like, ‘F**k…Ah!’ [moans in regret].”

However, there appears to be a reason why Rountree Jr. didn’t make use of his biggest weapon, and that was because of Pereira’s tall frame. “I know the kicks that I did throw did some damage. But I think because of his size, I felt like I had to have both feet planted and throw some more [punches]. You know, I didn’t want to be off balance in any of my attacks,” the 34-year-old added.

It seems Rountree Jr. didn’t want to get caught by Periera while attempting one of the kicks and hence threw caution to the wind. In the second round, a head-kick attempt from Periera did put him out of position, but Rountree Jr. hit back with a strong right hand that left the champion staggered.

As the challenger looked for the decisive blow, Periera was happy to break down his opponent systematically with leg kicks and body shots. By the third round, Rountree Jr. was nearly exhausted allowing the Brazilian to capitalize and he made his opponent pay. In the fourth round, you could barely recognize Rountree Jr. as his eye was badly cut and nearly swollen shut. Periera ended up winning his fifth straight contest. After the defeat, Rountree Jr. praised Periera and revealed he learned from the latest encounter.

“I didn’t win the title but I grew last night,” Rountree wrote on Instagram a day after the fight. “Alex Pereira, thanks for helping me see that I’m ready to take on the world. You showed amazing skill, you brought out a version of me that I needed to experience. You’re the champ for a reason, much respect. But I now know what I am capable of.”

While Rountree wasn’t necessarily considered the No. 1 contender when the fight was announced, he did hold his own for the most part and had a strong start. But as it happened with others before him, he fell to the power of Periera, who had to go all in to beat Rountree.

During an appearance on the Podpah on YouTube, Periera revealed, “That fourth round, I was throwing jabs and hurting my hand. I was thinking, ‘My hand must be broken.’ It still hurts. Not all the time, no. But if I squeeze here, it hurts.”

But he prevailed and as we move on to a new year, there’s a lot of anticipation among fans to see whom the Brazilian phenom fights next. However, a fellow UFC champion has shared his pick for the opponent he wants ‘Poatan’ to fight next.

Fellow champion hopes Alex Pereira fights this guy next

After Jon Jones called out Alex Pereira for a legacy fight, murmurs started about a potential showdown between the light heavyweight champion and the interim heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall. While the Englishman is focused more on his claim to the title unification match against ‘Bones’, he has made up his mind about Pereira’s next opponent. As obvious as that pick is, it seems to be a logical one as well. If you’re wondering who that fighter is, well, it’s Magomed Ankalaev, and Aspinall believes this could be a banger of a matchup.

“The fight that I’m looking forward to the most is Alex Pereira versus Ankalaev. What a clash of styles. Southpaw, wrestler, front foot fighter against a knockout merchant that is Alex Pereira. 2025, that fight has to be made,” Tom Aspinall stated on his YouTube channel. “That could be one of the biggest fights, potentially, in the UFC – definitely in the light heavyweight division and that is something that I am very, very much looking forward to. Big guys, knockout power, throwing down, I want to see it.”

We don’t have any idea who Alex Pereira will fight next, which is also the case with Khalil Rountree Jr. The 34-year-old is currently nursing his injuries, especially the one he suffered on his nose at UFC 307. So, we’ll have to wait for a while before we get any buzz on this front. Regardless, do you think the lack of kicks cost Rountree Jr. the whole fight? Let us know in the comments down below.