Khalil Rountree Jr. has greatly impressed the fighting community with his performance inside the Octagon on multiple occasions. With 14 victories and just 5 losses under his name, the fighter out of Syndicate MMA has finally got a chance to fight for the light heavyweight championship title. But his success in the world of mixed martial arts has raised quite a few eyebrows and intrigued the fight fans to wonder about his fighting style.

Muay Thai – Khalil Rountree’s primary fighting style

‘The War Horse’ began his martial arts journey with Muay Thai. It was the first-ever fight class that he joined and his instructor, Michael Costa, wasn’t someone who went easy on his students. Despite his hardness, Costa cared deeply about each of his students, which pushed Rountree to give it his all. Talking to Ariel Helwani back in 2022, the light heavyweight fighter said, “The first class was a Muay Thai class that was led by an instructor named Michael Costa, and he is one of the hardest trainers that I have ever known in my life.” But Rountree was a natural at it; with his eyes set on Wanderlei Silva as his role model, the LHW contender strived to become the best version of himself.

The kind of Muay Thai that Rountree practices is the Western, or Brazilian style of the martial art. Within just 4 months into the training, he became one of the most feared prospects in the MMA realm. Later on, the light heavyweight traveled to Phuket, Thailand, to train in the art and expand his arsenal. His trust in Muay Thai was what brought Rountree immeasurable success. He went on to win 9 fights in his professional fighting career with nothing but Muay Thai in his arsenal. It was his unanimous decision victory over Eryk Anders at UFC 236 that made him realize that he needed to expand his options.

With the kind of performance that Rountree has been displaying in the Octagon, the fighting community has often questioned the light heavyweight #8’s history. Let’s take a look at what inspired Rountree to begin training.

How did Khalil Rountree start training?

Rountree was just 2 years old when his father passed away due to a shootout. He was the tour manager for the Boys II Men and was returning from one of the tours when he met with the tragedy. This took a great toll on the young fighter. It was just his mother, sister, and stepbrother, Donavon Frelow, in the family, and yet they struggled to even secure $750 for rent. He had a pretty rough childhood, and his adolescent days were even worse.

As a teenager, Rountree was addicted to cigarettes, drank a lot, and lived off fast food and soda. Needless to say, he was an overweight teenager who weighed more than 300 pounds. But one fine day, a 19-year-old Rountree happened to stumble across a TUF bout featuring Quinton Jackson. That was when he decided that he wanted to train in martial arts. Frelow and Rountree made a pact and began to train together. Within a span of 11 months, ‘The War Horse’ dropped his weight down to 200 pounds and was ready to make a debut in the world of mixed martial arts.

Talking about his MMA journey, Rountree said, “I just was trying to get into shape. I was trying what [the people in the gym] were trying. I wanted to get some exercise in and kicking and punching seemed a fun way to do it. “Then, the more I went, the more I saw myself losing weight and then I went to a fight. I watched some heavyweights fight and that was it. I said to myself, ‘Oh my God.” He continued, “I have to try this,’ and that brought me eventually to where I am today.” But it’s important to note that the Las Vegas resident doesn’t have just Muay Thai at his disposal. Training with legends like Nick Rodriguez, Rountree has also added grappling to his list of weapons.

Does Khalil Rountree grapple? Training with a legendary grappler

Yes! The answer to the above question is a loud ‘Yes!’ Right after his bout against Anders at UFC 236, Rountree decided to learn the art of grappling. Training with Nicky Rod, one of the strongest grapplers the ADCC has ever seen, ‘The War Horse’ has become one of the most intimidating fighters in the fighting community. However, he doesn’t consider himself a wrestler. 

Rountree is all set to land against Alex Pereira at UFC 307 and fight for the light heavyweight championship title. But he doesn’t want to use his grappling skills in the bout. Talking to Michael Bisping, he said, “I’m not a wrestler; yes, I’m a mixed martial artist and I’m able to do a lot of different things, my grappling is good, my wrestling’s decent but that’s just not me ”“ that’s not my instinct. Why would I put myself in harm’s way to try to secure this victory when that’s just not me or my style, it would show me that if my coach was telling me ‘Hey, this is the way [to win]’ then who are you coaching?”

‘The War Horse’ confirmed that grappling was never really in his game plan. In case his coaches asked him to rely on grappling against ‘Poatan’, he would immediately fire them off. Well, that’s what he claimed. Rountree wants the fight on October 5th to be something that the world will remember for all of eternity. Finishing it off with his grappling will simply put it all down. Even though he would be deprived of executing the suplex, his favorite grappling technique, He’d still have his favorite soccer kick to rely upon.

Who do you think would win between Rountree and Pereira? Do you feel Rountree’s Muay Thai is stronger than Pereira’s kickboxing? Let us know in the comments down below.