The Friday before he was supposed to fly out to Texas for UFC Austin earlier this month, Khalil Rountree Jr. got the call: the light heavyweight’s opponent, Azamat Murzakanov, was out.
“Very overwhelming news, especially right before I go into my last workout before I leave town,” Rountree admitted during this week’s UFC Vegas 83 media day. “But Mick [Maynard, UFC matchmaker] was able to reach out and I’d imagine ask Anthony Smith if he was willing to step in. And thankfully he said yes, so here we are.”
Smith taking the fight on short notice meant a catchweight, or pushing the fight back. Per Smith, the UFC opted to push the fight back a week to UFC Vegas 83, so that he could make 205 pounds. Either way, Rountree has a fight that he admits is a bit more exciting than his original match-up.
“I believe so, yeah. I can say that honestly, it did excite me a little bit more. Only because I’ve had past conversations about this potential match-up, maybe one or two fights from now, something like that. So the name has come up in the past as far as just what to aim for when reaching for a title shot. So he’s up there, the name came up, so it’s something that I was a little bit more familiar with. So it was a little bit more exciting.”
Getting the news that Friday, barely two weeks ago, meant a quick course correction. “By Friday night, it’s like, okay, we’re working on a few adjustments. And the week after that has been a mixture of what I’ve been doing, and some adjustments included.”
Asked why he believes Smith stepped up to take the fight, Khalil Rountree Jr. said simply “because it’s Anthony Smith. I mean, tough guy. ‘Lionheart.’ They call him that for a reason. Strong guy.”
“I don’t really see him saying no to many fights,” Rountree added. “But that’s just my perspective, I don’t really know the guy. But from what I’ve put together, I think he says yes because he’s a strong guy and he knows what he’s capable of.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 83 media day appearance by Khalil Rountree Jr. above.
