Khalil Rountree Jr. sheds light on Conor McGregor reaching out to him after Alex Pereira loss: "It was really nice"
Conor McGregor was one of many who applauded the UFC 307 main event between Alex Pereira and Khalil Rountree Jr., praising both fighters in the immediate aftermath. While 'The War Horse' suffered a fourth-round TKO loss, he received plenty of compliments for his performance.
The No. 8-ranked light heavyweight shared that 'The Notorious' privately reached out to him following the bout. Speaking to Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Rountree Jr. stated:
"I still haven't watched the fight, as a whole, since it happened, but I did get - it was really nice. A couple of days after the fight, I got some messages from Conor and it was really cool to get some messages from him, but one thing that he pointed out was that I could have put more pressure."
Rountree Jr. continued:
"Just like you were saying, when he was going up against the cage, yeah, he has that left hook, but if I would have been just a little bit more relentless with my pressure and not backed off so much and retook the center of the cage, I think I would have been able to apply a little bit more damage to him. So, I think if I were to go back and replay this fight, I'd probably just be a little bit more aggressive, like smart aggressive."
Check out Khalil Rountree Jr.'s comments on hearing from Conor McGregor below (6:11):
Rountree Jr. was impressive in the bout and was winning on all three judges' scorecards at the time of the stoppage, as each had him taking the first and second rounds. He has expressed that he will look to return to the octagon in the first quarter of next year.
Conor McGregor claims Alex Pereira poses problems for Jon Jones
Conor McGregor recently praised Alex Pereira for his impressive run in 2024, which has seen the light heavyweight champion defend his title three times since April. 'The Notorious' shared that he believes 'Poatan' could be a problem in a potential matchup with Jon Jones.
Speaking to The Schmo, the former double champ claimed:
"I think [Pereira] poses a lot of problems for Jon, also. That's a dangerous style for Jon, but it's a decent one for him because he's not so big. Jon is new to the heavyweight division. Jon, he had a nice one against Ciryl Gane, but he's still untested at heavyweight and I'm sure in the back of his mind, he has that thought that some of these guys are really big."
Check out Conor McGregor's comments on Alex Pereira and Jon Jones below (3:40):
McGregor added that while Pereira is not as big as some heavyweights, he may be even more dangerous. The bout is unlikely to transpire, however, as 'Bones' has hinted he will retire after his upcoming UFC 309 bout against Stipe Miocic.