Khalil Rountree reveals unpleasant surprise ahead of face to Jamahal Hill at UFC Baku

Khalil Rountree defeated Jamahal Hill in the main event of UFC Baku . Photo: Reproduction/X/UFC

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Despite winning against Jamahal Hill , Khalil Rountree was not in his best condition. The 'Sons of Poatan' faced each other in the main event of UFC Baku , last Saturday (21), and the 'War Horse' won by unanimous decision of the judges after five rounds. This Monday (23), the winner revealed that he fought injured.

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“I would say it was halfway through training camp, when I was training jiu-jitsu, that I first felt some discomfort in my knee. Just training with bigger guys and doing four sessions a day, plus running, jiu-jitsu, and knee protectors, is when I started to feel the discomfort. It only increased from there, until one day I woke up and was having a lot of difficulty walking and even standing. So, I took it for a check-up and ended up having a meniscus tear,” said Rountree Jr., in a video published on his YouTube channel.

“When I found out about the injury, I think it was only about three weeks before the fight. So it was obviously stressful, but I had incredible, positive support to keep going and not let it affect my mind, and to do whatever I could to overcome it, and take on challenges and things like that as motivation. Use the obstacle as motivation,” said the light heavyweight (up to 93kg).

Khalil Rountree climbs the rankings and 'steals' Hill's position

With his victory in the main event of UFC Baku , Khalil Rountree climbed several spots in Alex Poatan 's division rankings . The American reached fourth place in the light heavyweight rankings, a position previously held by his opponent. Jamahal Hill dropped two places to sixth, a position previously held by Aleksandar Rakic , who moved to seventh. The top spot is held by former champion Poatan. The current champion is Magomed Ankalaev , who won the title after defeating the Brazilian by decision at UFC 313 in March.

How does the UFC ranking work?

The official UFC rankings are updated weekly and compiled by a panel of specialized journalists. They vote based on criteria such as recent performance, quality of opponents, and relevance of fights. Each weight class has its own ranking, in addition to a "pound-for-pound" list of the organization's best fighters, regardless of division. Significant changes, such as important wins, losses, and even retirements—like that of Jon Jones —can directly impact the athletes' positions.

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