JRE MMA Show #168 with Khalil Rountree Jr.

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Joe Rogan Experience – JRE MMA Show #168 with Khalil Rountree Jr.

Release Date: July 24, 2025

In this engaging episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, host Joe Rogan sits down with UFC fighter Khalil Rountree Jr. to discuss Khalil's recent experiences, fight strategies, personal growth, and future aspirations. The conversation delves deep into the world of mixed martial arts (MMA), providing listeners with a comprehensive view of Khalil's journey both inside and outside the octagon.

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1. Experiences in Baku, Azerbaijan [00:17 - 03:16]

Khalil opens the discussion by sharing his transformative experience in Baku, Azerbaijan, where his fight was relocated. Initially skeptical about the unfamiliar location, Khalil praises Baku's hospitality and vibrant atmosphere.

• Notable Quote:
  Khalil Rountree Jr. [00:44]: “...Old Town. I did a tour through there.”

He elaborates on the cultural richness of Baku, mentioning landmarks like the Flame Towers and the Carpet Museum, emphasizing the city's unique blend of history and modernity.

• Notable Quote:
  Khalil Rountree Jr. [02:33]: “...all these carpets are handmade, like, passed down generation after generation.”

Khalil expresses a strong desire to return to Baku, highlighting the positive impact the environment had on his performance.

---

2. Weight Cutting Process and Challenges [03:16 - 07:24]

The conversation shifts to Khalil's weight management strategies. He maintains a steady weight, rarely exceeding 230 pounds, and details his disciplined approach during fight camps.

• Notable Quote:
  Khalil Rountree Jr. [05:23]: “...I just do not let myself get over 230. That's just like my, that's my oath to myself.”

Khalil discusses his unique weight-cutting method, which involves minimal diet changes and strategic use of saunas to shed pounds quickly without feeling depleted. Despite facing physical challenges like vomiting due to jet lag and a demanding filming schedule, Khalil remains mentally resilient.

• Notable Quote:
  Khalil Rountree Jr. [06:11]: “...it was just under two hours for me to be on.”

---

3. Reflections on Past Fights: Loss to Alex Pereira [09:12 - 12:52]

Khalil reflects on his challenging fight against Alex Pereira, acknowledging it as his first five-rounder. He analyzes the mistakes made, particularly in the fourth round where overcommitment led to taking significant damage.

• Notable Quote:
  Khalil Rountree Jr. [11:21]: “The number one mistake that I think was made in that fight is that it was my first five rounder.”

Khalil emphasizes the mental battle he faced, maintaining a positive outlook despite the physical toll.

• Notable Quote:
  Khalil Rountree Jr. [06:41]: “...there was nothing that was going to like, my mind for like through this camp, through this fight.”

---

4. Victory Against Jamal Hill and Its Impact [12:52 - 25:06]

Discussing his subsequent fight with Jamal Hill, Khalil showcases significant improvements in his strategy and execution. He highlights the importance of choosing when to engage and how disciplined fighting can lead to dominance in the octagon.

• Notable Quote:
  Khalil Rountree Jr. [23:12]: “...he was out of it going to the second.”

Khalil credits his team and rigorous training for his enhanced performance, contrasting it with his previous loss to Pereira.

• Notable Quote:
  Khalil Rountree Jr. [24:10]: “...I just stuck to the plan, I win this fight.”

---

5. Upcoming Fight with Yuri Prohaska [25:06 - 37:22]

Khalil expresses excitement about his upcoming bout against Yuri Prohaska in Las Vegas, highlighting the significance of fighting in his hometown and the support from local fans.

• Notable Quote:
  Khalil Rountree Jr. [26:35]: “...we're now in this, I'm committed to digging this tunnel.”

He discusses Yuri's improvements and the strategic preparation required to face a dynamic and strategic opponent.

• Notable Quote:
  Khalil Rountree Jr. [27:35]: “...it requires dedication and focus and, you know, doing the right study.”

---

6. Training Strategies and Mentorship [35:18 - 71:05]

Khalil delves into his training regimen and the influence of mentors and training partners like Buchecha. He underscores the importance of continuous learning and adapting to elevate his skills to a championship level.

• Notable Quote:
  Khalil Rountree Jr. [35:18]: “...I've been training a lot with Buchecha, who just got signed to UFC.”

He also introduces Santo Studio, a collaborative platform aimed at supporting MMA fighters and extreme sports athletes, emphasizing community and mutual growth.

• Notable Quote:
  Khalil Rountree Jr. [70:59]: “We're just doing everything we can to just support each other within this, like, MMA community, help each other grow.”

---

7. Trip to Thailand and Cultural Insights [29:34 - 37:12]

After his fights, Khalil took a recuperative trip to Thailand, where he was invited by the Thailand Tourism Authority. He shares insights into Thai culture, visiting local farms, and experiencing authentic Thai hospitality.

• Notable Quote:
  Khalil Rountree Jr. [30:42]: “...there were these windmills and I know they're like. Looks like... the water evaporates and then there's like, salt left at the bottom.”

The trip provided Khalil with a fresh perspective and a much-needed break from the rigors of fight preparation.

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8. Vision for Retirement and Future Plans [71:05 - 93:17]

Khalil outlines his aspirations beyond fighting, including potential business ventures with Santo Studio and expanding his life in Asia. He envisions settling in places like Thailand, Hong Kong, or South Korea to provide a balanced and fulfilling life for his future family.

• Notable Quote:
  Khalil Rountree Jr. [76:18]: “...if I could live the American dream in Thailand, that would be ideal.”

He emphasizes the importance of discipline and maintaining mental health, aiming to be a positive role model for young fighters.

• Notable Quote:
  Khalil Rountree Jr. [84:19]: “...martial arts is a big one.”

---

9. Approach to Discipline vs. Trash-Talking [93:17 - 134:26]

A significant portion of the conversation centers on the culture of trash-talking in MMA. Khalil advocates for discipline and letting performance speak for itself, contrasting his approach with fighters like Conor McGregor and Chael Sonnen who thrive on verbal sparring to gain attention.

• Notable Quote:
  Khalil Rountree Jr. [94:14]: “...I think that there's so many different things that can be done when you have that belt.”

Joe Rogan and Khalil discuss the impact of fighters' behavior on their careers and the perception of MMA among casual fans. Khalil passionately argues against unnecessary trash-talking, emphasizing respect and responsibility as champions.

• Notable Quote:
  Khalil Rountree Jr. [93:17]: “...we have a responsibility as athletes, as champions...”

---

10. Equipment and Gloves Discussion [127:04 - 135:05]

Khalil shares his experiences with MMA gloves, particularly the challenges faced with new glove designs that fail to retain the UFC logo. He critiques the current state of glove innovation and underscores the importance of proper equipment for fighter safety.

• Notable Quote:
  Khalil Rountree Jr. [128:34]: “...they weigh the same. Whether it's an XL or an extra small, it weighs the same.”

He highlights his involvement in testing and improving fight gear, advocating for better standards to enhance fighter performance and safety.

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11. Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks [135:05 - End]

In the concluding segment, Khalil reflects on the importance of being a positive role model and the responsibilities that come with being a champion. He reiterates his commitment to personal growth, discipline, and inspiring others through his journey.

• Notable Quote:
  Khalil Rountree Jr. [141:21]: “...I'm grateful and blessed to be in the position that I'm in. And, like, I don't want to waste anything.”

Joe Rogan commends Khalil for his admirable mindset and dedication, expressing excitement for Khalil's upcoming fight against Yuri Prohaska.

• Notable Quote:
  Joe Rogan [141:30]: “...I really enjoyed it because I like when people fight smart.”

Khalil wraps up by emphasizing the continuous nature of his journey, striving to grow and make a positive impact both inside and outside the octagon.

---

Conclusion

This episode provides a profound insight into Khalil Rountree Jr.'s life as a UFC fighter, highlighting his resilience, disciplined approach to training, and thoughtful perspective on the culture within MMA. His aspirations beyond fighting and dedication to being a role model offer inspiration to both fans and aspiring athletes. Joe Rogan's engaging interview style complements Khalil's candidness, making for a compelling and informative discussion.

Transcript

[Joe Rogan]

Joe Rogan podcast.

[Khalil Rountree]

Check it out.

[Joe Rogan]

The Joe Rogan experience. Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day.

[Khalil Rountree]

Check it. Check, check it out.

[Joe Rogan]

What's up?

[Khalil Rountree]

What up?

[Joe Rogan]

How you feeling? What's going on?

[Khalil Rountree]

Oh, man. Back from a amazing Thailand vacation.

[Joe Rogan]

Oh, really?

[Khalil Rountree]

After that, after the. After the fight, it just feels like I've been on, like, just a great vacation journey. Baku was amazing. Let me start off there.

[Joe Rogan]

Please.

[Khalil Rountree]

Let me start off with Baku, Azerbaijan. Oh, my God, what a place.

[Joe Rogan]

I heard it's amazing there.

[Khalil Rountree]

Absolutely incredible.

[Joe Rogan]

Everybody who went there was raving about.

[Khalil Rountree]

How great it was. Absolutely incredible. When we got the news, like, okay, the fight's gonna be postponed. It's gonna go into Baku. I had never heard of the place in my life. I agreed without even looking it up, you know, but in my mind, I was thinking, like, ok, this is a place I've never heard of. You know, I started thinking, like, I don't know, it's probably going to be something similar to, like, Saudi, and it's probably just like a lot of desert, blah, blah. And I get there and my mind was absolutely blown. Amazing treatment from Baku City Circuit welcomed us in. The fans were some of the best I've ever encountered, man. They were so happy to have the UFC there. Everyone in the streets, like, people who weren't even fight fans, were just excited that the UFC was in Baku. So, like, that added to the experience, and then. It's just beautiful, man. Like, what's it like? What does it look like? So where we were. Yeah. So that's Old Town. So I did a tour through there.

[Joe Rogan]

Old Town, it.

[Khalil Rountree]

I forgot. I. So I forgot. But I know that 4, 000 people still live in Old Town. There's boutique hotels in there. There's just so much history as, like, when it was built, kind of what they're known for. I don't remember what that building is, but the architecture there is one of the things that. That's the. The. The flame towers. So at night there's just projections and, like, it'll be like the flag or it'll just. It'll actually be like flames. Because Baku is known for oil, like, being one of the first oil countries. This is the Carpet Museum, an amazing place full of carpets that are, like century years old.

[Joe Rogan]

They built it to look like a carpet.

[Khalil Rountree]

I'm. It's crazy. And all these carpets are handmade, like, passed down generation after generation. So, like, they tell you how deep the culture and, like, the stories of these carpets and, like, how. Oh, my God. They the. And clean, clean friendly people.

[Joe Rogan]

A bunch of people that went there decided to stay for a few days.

[Khalil Rountree]

I would, I honestly, I wish that I would have stayed longer. I've already booked family trips. I've told everybody we're going back to Baku. Wow, man. Just thinking about it, I'm like, dude, this is a place that I want to. I want to visit for the rest of my life. I want to just keep going back to Bakum.

[Joe Rogan]

That's dope.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. So.

[Joe Rogan]

And obviously you had an amazing result there too.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, I think, I think that the, you know, I think that it really played into just my performance. I was in a really good place. Let me. Okay. I was in a good place, but I was also in kind of a up state. Like, not gonna lie. I was just so happy to be across the world doing what I love to do and to be like, treated like we're actually appreciated for, you know, like for what we do. And so that helped me get through all the other.

[Joe Rogan]

What was the other. What was going on?

[Khalil Rountree]

Oh, man. So I knew that we were going to be jet lagged no matter what. I knew it because we're traveling, you know, super far.

[Joe Rogan]

16 hour flight, right?

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. Super long flight. So I knew we were going to be jet lagged. So I made sure that we got there two weeks early to adjust. It took about six, almost about a week to like fully adjust. And then so during fight week, say second day, first day of fight week, I'm like throwing up and, and non stop.

[Joe Rogan]

Oh no.

[Khalil Rountree]

I'm like, okay, this is great. Is exactly what I want to be feeling right now. You know, pressure's on. I gotta fight. You know, Like, I'm super motivated. Yeah. And I'm just like. I don't know what I'm. What am I gonna do, man? Like, what was it? I don't even know.

[Joe Rogan]

Food poisoning?

[Khalil Rountree]

I don't think so. Because everybody, everybody that I was with, we all ate the same thing.

[Joe Rogan]

You were the only one who got.

[Khalil Rountree]

I was the only one, man. It was the only one. And so.

[Joe Rogan]

And you don't cut a ton of weight.

[Khalil Rountree]

No. So I think what, what do you walk around at right now? I mean, vacation modem, you know, 2 28, 230 something still. I don't care. I don't get over 230. Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

You know he cuts a ton.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. If I, I just do not let myself get over 230. That's just like my, that's my oath to myself.

[Joe Rogan]

And then in camp, what do you get down to 20.

[Khalil Rountree]

I'd say between 20 and 25 is where I like to balance. 220, 225. And anytime in there I'm good because I know that that's where I'm going to fight at. So when I'm in camp, it's, you.

[Joe Rogan]

Know, and then when do you start your cut?

[Khalil Rountree]

So the way that it happens is the last kind of two weeks. I don't necessarily do too much of like a diet change. It's just my, like I'm always looking to peak on fight day. Not like a peak plateau format that a lot of people go, but by. So I'd say usually, let's say we weigh in on Friday. That Tuesday, I'm around 2:14.

[Joe Rogan]

Oh, okay.

[Khalil Rountree]

2:13, something like that.

[Joe Rogan]

Nice.

[Khalil Rountree]

And then, you know, those last days is kind of like water load, proteins and fats. I sit in the sauna no matter what. Like an hour, maybe. Like my weight cut this time took. I hit mitts for an hour and a half. I laid down in a sauna blanket and I was on weight. Like I. So it was like under two hours for me to be on.

[Joe Rogan]

So you're not depleted?

[Khalil Rountree]

Not at all.

[Joe Rogan]

Feel good. And how long did it take for that cold to get out of your system or whatever it was?

[Khalil Rountree]

I still felt it. I still felt it a bit on fight day. But there was nothing that was going to like, my mind for like through this camp, through this fight. Man, like, I'm so happy for everything that I went through. Honestly, like, there was nothing that was going to take away like my shine or my joy or my feeling of like, being ready, being prepared. It was, it was a battle with my mind. And every day I had to make a choice to like, to just be better, to be bigger, to be, to be happy, to just, you know, to just like embrace everything. This was all, like, everything's just been about embracing the obstacles that America's beverage.

[Joe Rogan]

Companies are investing in America.

[Khalil Rountree]

We're American companies making American products with American workers in America's hometowns. We're local bottlers and manufacturers operating in all 50 states, employing more than 275,000Americans in good paying jobs delivering for the nation. Because we believe in the promise of.

[Joe Rogan]

America and the people who make it great.

[Khalil Rountree]

Learn [e-mail] paid for by the American Beverage Association.

[Joe Rogan]

This episode is brought to you by ZipRecruiter. Speed and quality aren't always synonymous. I don't go to a fast food joint expecting a five star meal or use instant coffee, thinking it'll taste like it came from a French press. There are exceptions, of course, like if you're hiring, you can use ZipRecruiter to find qualified people fast. Try it yourself [e-mail] Rogan According to G2, it's one of the most popular hiring sites, probably because of how fast it actually works. I'm talking same day results in some cases. With ZipRecruiter's advanced resume database, you can proactively find and connect with top talent in minutes. And new resumes are always being uploaded over 300, 000 every month. So you have an opportunity to reach more people with the skills you're looking for. Experience, hiring speed and quality. With ZipRecruiter, 4 out of 5 who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. And if you go to ziprecruiter.com rogan right now, you can try it for free again. That's ZipRecruiter.com Rogan ZipRecruiter the smartest way to hire. So the last time we talked was before the Pereira fight.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

And it was great fight.

[Khalil Rountree]

Thank you.

[Joe Rogan]

You had some great success. It was a tough fight. And then what is, what is it like after that fight? So you face the best in the world and you know that you can hang with him. You lost the fight, but you didn't gain a ton of experience. You went five rounds with one of the greatest. And what is it like after that?

[Khalil Rountree]

I'd say everything seems very different now. I have been since the Pereira fight. I've been to, I'd say, more than six countries and every. There's fans there. Everyone, like, knows who I am now. And that is something that was a shock to me, especially coming off a loss and just knowing that, like, I gave my all in that fight. And that's, I guess, what the people wanted from me, to get that type of, like, acknowledgment because I'd been in the UFC for so long. But that fight, I guess, really showed people like, who I am and I got to show the world who I am and against a guy like Alex. So now I feel like I've at least kind of made my mark and been like, hey, I'm here. You know, and so people are now like, okay, Khalil, I know this guy is. You can say the name. And now people kind of, you know, they're, they're familiar with. With who I am now. But the other thing that it showed me was that I know. I now know who I am and what I'm capable of. I spent majority of that fight just soaking in the moment, and just like, I'm here, I'm here, I'm here. I was excited to be there. I gave everything I had. But then going back and watching it, I'm like, I saw a lot of the mistakes that I made.

[Joe Rogan]

What mistakes? Specifically?

[Khalil Rountree]

The number one mistake that I think was made in that fight is that it was my first five rounder, and when I was going into the fourth, because I took a lot of damage in. In the. In the end of the, like, middle to end of the third. So I was up one and two. The beginning of three, I was starting to kind of. He started to kind of take over halfway through the round. And once he started hitting me, I was like, oh, he's established his range and now I'm feeling it. So it wasn't necessarily like a cardio thing. It was just like I started taking damage. And everybody knows this guy hits hard. So I was taking the damage. I was rocked. I was dizzy. Going into the fourth. In the. In the break, I remember John Wood saying, all right, man, like, you're doing great. 10 more minutes. Like, you can do anything. 10 minutes. Just stick in there. We got this. And because I wasn't Familiar with the five rounds, I took 10 minutes as sellout. So in the fourth round, I came out, like, ready to, you know, I wasn't thinking with the mindset of, like, I'm up to. He just took the third. Fourth round, I need to maybe relax, you know, maybe not get hit, you know, whatever. Fourth round, I came out, I bit down and I went to war. I think that's what lost me the fight for me personally.

[Joe Rogan]

So you made a lot of adjustments in the Jamal Hill fight.

[Khalil Rountree]

1,000%.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah, you could see it. You could see, first of all, what a performance.

[Khalil Rountree]

Thank you.

[Joe Rogan]

I mean, he dominated a world champion. I mean, dominated him. It was such a clear cut victory. And it was a victory where a lot of people thought that you were going to struggle with him. And, you know, you just really. You really showed a level above the Pereira fight. And I think maybe part of it is what you're talking about, like, choosing when to engage and when not to engage. Like, there's moments in that fight where you were dominating the fight, but there's moments where he was coming after. You just moved. You just moved. He moved away from. And I know it pissed him off, but it's like, hey, man, you know, you were way ahead. You're way ahead. And you were. You were dominating the exchanges. Then when you chose to exchange with him, you were hurting him.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

And dropping him. It was very impressive, man.

[Khalil Rountree]

Thank you. And that was. That was the product of, you know, really reviewing mistakes.

[Joe Rogan]

And you also do some wild, like, standing hammer fists. Is that something you practice? That's a crazy move, man.

[Khalil Rountree]

We're artists. You know, I think that that's one thing that, you know, I try my best to always embody the artist in mixed martial arts. I think it gets lost in the growth of the sport of mma, you know, but, you know, from this, the past conversations we have and you understanding kind of how I was before, like, man, I need some type of outlet for creativity, you know?

[Joe Rogan]

That's what it is. Standing hair.

[Khalil Rountree]

I mean, my mind, you know, just my essence is art. So I'm like, how can I, you know, paint this picture of, like, expression of combat? You know what I mean? Like, there's so many different. We got silat, we got Krav Maga, we got all these things, and it's like, let me paint, you know, like, what can I use to, you know, to. To. To. To.

[Joe Rogan]

That's a bold thing to do, to use something very creative like that on a world champion, too. Jamal Hill's a dangerous guy.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, he's dangerous, man.

[Joe Rogan]

Standing hammer fist.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, I'm dangerous, too. You know, Like, I try to. Yeah, I try to. Like, I, I. I always try to insert myself into, you know, into these things, too, because I think about it. Yeah, Alex, hard hitter, dangerous guy, and I have to like, yeah, so am I. Let's do it, you know, Alex or Jamal, same thing. Like, I know he's got one punch power, you know, all these things. I'm like, let me insert myself. Let me take some chances. Let me be bold, you know, I think that's, that's.

[Joe Rogan]

I think there's an advantage that you have also as a lighter guy in that division is that you move quicker. And that was kind of evident in that fight that you're like, you know, there's a range of light heavyweights, and you're on the smaller range. Like, there's a lot of guys like Dricus, who's bigger than you?

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Who's the middleweight champion? Yeah, he's fucking huge, man. It's the opposite thing, right? He's cutting a ton of weight. I don't know what he cuts, but every time I interview him, I'm like, how? Yeah, how the are you 185 pounds. You're enormous. He looks like a heavyweight, and he is a heavyweight when he fights. I mean, he's over 205 for sure.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, these guys, they blow up, blow.

[Joe Rogan]

Up, and you don't. And I think because of that, you have this. You have speed, and not just speed of the strikes, but the way you move in and out. You know, it's like when you close the distance on Jamal, you could see it was like there were some moments where I think he was surprised by the speed in which you were able to close the distance.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, I think so as well. There were. Yeah, there were some reactions in there that I was picking up on. I could see a bit of frustration. You know, I feel like I was able to read a lot of the things before they, you know, before they would come. And. Yeah, I. I mean, I heard everything that his coaches were saying, and in my mind, I was just seeing him struggle with, like, not being able to react the way he wanted. And maybe that was because, you know, there was. There was the speed that they weren't necessarily dealing with the speed.

[Joe Rogan]

And also the leg kicks. You. You. Him up early with leg kicks. Yeah. And it really had a significant effect. When you see him switching stances and he doesn't like to stand orthodox. You saw a lot of changes.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, he. He did. I can. I can say that, you know, there were some improvements made. I think that he probably spent some more time working on his footwork. He was a lot less flat footed than he usually is. I could tell that, like, his. A lot of the times his toes were pointed at me, and that wasn't what I studied, you know what I mean?

[Joe Rogan]

Like, so he made some changes.

[Khalil Rountree]

He made some changes.

[Joe Rogan]

He landed some very good leg kick, specifically in the first round.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. Thank you. I. I always do my best to, you know, try to channel my Muay Thai and.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah, you're like, one of the few. Like, I remember we talked about that, about the Eric Anders fight. Like, you when you came back from Thailand the first time, you were fighting, like, a tie. Me and DC Were having a blast with it. We're like, look at this, like, light on the front foot. It was like, totally different approach.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

But he landed some very good leg kicks in the first round, too. It was a good exchange, but yours were doing a lot more damage.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, he started off with the leg kicks. Like, I think he threw maybe three or four calf kicks before I actually started answering back. Yeah, he. So he started it and I was just like, okay, cool. If this is the game we're playing, like, I love this game, you know, Like, I love this game. So yeah, it was, it was, it was a great fight, man.

[Joe Rogan]

Why did you start the beginning of the fight like with your hands down, just like walking towards him?

[Khalil Rountree]

Because that's how I felt, Joe. I mean, like, I, I feel like in that fight. So there was, there was not necessarily like beef between Jamal and I. Like, we never really exchanged, you know, there wasn't any like heated discussions or anything. But we all have phones, we all have social media, we all, you know, I get Google alerts and stuff anytime I'm mentioned. And so like, I've seen things that were said and I'm just like, okay, whatever. I don't agree with it and I don'. You know, whatever. If this guy looks at me as however, that's just his opinion.

[Joe Rogan]

What was he saying?

[Khalil Rountree]

Like, what was it just like, I think it was like things again about like the Alex fight, or just saying that, like, he's gonna outskill me or, you know, I don't belong in the division. Just, you know, things like that. Like, don't take my exact word for it, but that's kind of how, like that's the stuff that I kind of saw. So the, for me, there was no real reason to show any like, respect, you know, if we're in the same building, if we're in the same room, I just like, whatever, I wanted to just kind of block him out. And then during the weigh ins, so I had a, I had a press conference and they were saying like, hey, in the Alex fight, you know, there was a lot of blood. You got cut up. Can we expect the same thing from you in this fight? And I said, no, there's not going to be any blood on my face. How you're interviewing me now is how you're going to interview me after the fight. I'm gonna look the same. He didn't like that. I didn't say his name, but he didn't like that. And so at the weigh ins he comes like, and mind you, we had three days before the weigh ins and we'd seen each other in the hotel room and blah, blah, blah, or in the hotel, you know. There were many more opportunities for him to say what he said, but he chose to do it at the weigh ins in front of Dana White. And I thought that was like, come.

[Joe Rogan]

On, what did he say?

[Khalil Rountree]

He said, oh, you're gonna bleed. You're gonna bleed. You better believe that. You're gonna bleed like in my face, like, oh, I'm gonna make you bleed. And I was just like, okay, like, sure. You know, like, that was just really, like, internally, like, I'm like, okay, sure, yeah, whatever.

[Joe Rogan]

And why did you think that you wouldn't get cut? Like, what made you think.

[Khalil Rountree]

I knew how I've been training and what I'm prepared for, and I know the type of athlete and fighter and man that I am, and I just knew that it wasn't going to happen. I was just that confident in my abilities and the work that I put in that I just knew it wasn't going to happen.

[Joe Rogan]

It's pretty wild also, considering you're coming off of a loss. Like, you had more confidence coming off.

[Khalil Rountree]

Of a loss, 100%, because the loss just showed me that there's more work to do, you know, like, people always say, back to the drawing boards. And, like, it was more than the drawing boards for me. It was like, back to the dirt, back to the Vegas weather, Back to the dying on the assault bike. Back to challenging myself, back to going deeper. Who am I really? What am I really capable of? And, you know, like, that. That was. It was just like, deep, deep internal digging to get out and to discover what I'm made of. And so in that comes confidence, and that comes, like, I. I know what I'm capable of, and I know what I can do. And so that's how I felt, you know? So that's why I walked out like that, because I was just like.

[Joe Rogan]

Because it's kind of wild. I was, what is he doing?

[Khalil Rountree]

But I was also prepared, you know? Like, I didn't want to rush anything. Like, nothing needed to be rushed. Like, the cage is closed, and we got 25 minutes. I'm going to run out, you know? No, like, walk here. I know that you're not going to do anything. I wasn't threatened like, that. That statement in my face didn't like. I was just like, here we go again. You know what I mean? Like, another guy that wants to, like, get in my face. Like, yeah, and I did the job that needed to be done.

[Joe Rogan]

This is a very measured performance. And some people didn't like that. Some people, you know, the casuals, I think there's casuals that they wanted to see blood. They just want to see chaos. They don't care about your health.

[Khalil Rountree]

They don't care about me at the age of 50 with. You know what I mean? When this is all over and I want my knees and my hands and my fingers and everything to work yeah. And I want to be able to speak sentences and go through the airport on both my feet and not in a wheelchair. They don't care about that.

[Joe Rogan]

No.

[Khalil Rountree]

And that's okay.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah, it's okay.

[Khalil Rountree]

I mean, you know, like, the only.

[Joe Rogan]

Time it bothers me when referees react. Like when referees separate people because of booing, like, don't do that. Don't do that.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, you can't. The referees can't be influenced by the crowd.

[Joe Rogan]

Don't. Don't give into the casuals.

[Khalil Rountree]

You can't, man.

[Joe Rogan]

Cuz I thought it was a very smart performance. Like, if you're going to fight a guy like Jamal, who's an awesome counter striker, one punch, knockout power, got a series of bodies behind him. Like, he's knocked out a lot of dudes.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

He knows how to do it. You got to fight him smart for sure. And that's what you did.

[Khalil Rountree]

And I wasn't. Yeah. I just like, to be clear, I know the things that I said can come off as, like, overly confident or whatever. I wasn't sleeping on Jamal, you know, Like, I knew what he was capable of and I trained hard for him. I really did. Every day was. Was dedication. Every day was, you know, strategy and planning.

[Joe Rogan]

When did you feel like everything was coming together in the fight?

[Khalil Rountree]

Before the fight. Really? Yeah. The win for me happened before the fight, like I said, I think with camp, the training, you know, my head training, like with John, with Lorenzo, Christian, just the guys who are in my circle, um, and the work that we do, I just. That really helped me with, you know, a lot. A lot of confidence and a clear vision and a path to victory, and I just stuck to it. So I just had a feeling that if I. If I stick to the plan, I win this fight.

[Joe Rogan]

And he did. Yeah, it was. It was very measured, very smart in. And I liked it. I really enjoyed it.

[Khalil Rountree]

Thank you.

[Joe Rogan]

I enjoyed it because I like when people fight smart. I really do. When people maximize the amount of damage that they put out, minimize amount of damage they receive in return. That's what you did.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. And so, yeah, now we got the next one. Yuri Prohaska. Yeah. Did you see that news?

[Joe Rogan]

I did.

[Khalil Rountree]

Just saw it yesterday. Yeah. So this is. Man, I'm excited about this fight. Yeah, I really am. Another guy who's, you know what I mean? Like, former champion, very skilled, very dangerous.

[Joe Rogan]

Another guy's gotten a lot better since the prayer fight.

[Khalil Rountree]

He's gotten a lot better since the prayer fight. He's dynamic. He's, you know, he's strategic.

[Joe Rogan]

He's awkward as too.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, he can be awkward.

[Joe Rogan]

So weird. He's the weirdest.

[Khalil Rountree]

And it's in Vegas, so. Yeah, this is great. It's going to be the first time since the Go Kon Saki fight that I've been able to fight in front of a crowd.

[Joe Rogan]

Oh, is that really my hometown?

[Khalil Rountree]

No, that was the last fight I had.

[Joe Rogan]

That's crazy.

[Khalil Rountree]

At T Mobile arena in front of the Las Vegas crowd.

[Joe Rogan]

I had not realized that.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Oh, wow.

[Khalil Rountree]

So that's.

[Joe Rogan]

That's huge. Don't have to fly, don't have to travel.

[Khalil Rountree]

Don't have to fly, don't have to travel. And then Las Vegas can come out and, you know, support a local. So it's. That's cool because with the growth of Las Vegas, we're getting sports, you know, got the Raiders getting a baseball team, you know, women's basketball. It's. It's the, the local scene in Vegas right now. I'm proud of it, you know, to come from there and to that now we have something besides just gambling and, you know, all the debauchery. Yeah, yeah. So it's going to be nice and I'm very happy to. To represent that night.

[Joe Rogan]

So how do you train for a guy like Yuri? Like what, what do you do? I mean, are you going to watch a lot of tape on him? Like, how do you prepare for a guy like that? That's very unusual.

[Khalil Rountree]

Without giving away too much, I think that it just requires, you know, study, like passing any test. You know what I mean? Like, it requires dedication and focus and, you know, doing the right study, making the right adjustments and training. You know, it's. The rest, I think is. Is art, you know, like how we go about solving the, the problem is for everybody to enjoy. But I think that, yeah, it comes from study and good training partners as well. I think that that's a huge, a huge thing. In anybody's training camp.

[Joe Rogan]

Do you have anybody that could emulate that style or will you even try?

[Khalil Rountree]

You know what, to emulate someone's style, I think is. It's helpful. It is, it is helpful, but it's very hard because you can never really truly, you know, be someone so someone can give you certain looks that maybe you'll see. So I don't, I don't rely too heavily on, you know, on people emulating, but I do appreciate, you know, bodies and people that are around the same size just so I can, you know, get used to that body contact of maybe someone who's A bit taller. And. Yeah, not training with guys who are maybe shorter, you know, like, if I had a short guy who can emulate my opponent, it's not gonna help me. You know, it doesn't help. So if I have. If I have a taller guy who maybe can't emulate and I can do what I want to do against a taller body, then the rest is up to, like, my awareness and, like, making sure that, you know, a guy who maybe has this weird style. Okay, I'm. I'm aware of that, but I know what I can do against someone of the same size.

[Joe Rogan]

Yuri's just. He's so unusual in that a lot of times his hands are down really low, his stance is very wide, and he moves back and forth like a cobra. Like, he. He hinges at the waist more than probably anybody. He does a lot of unusual stuff that you could see. Guys, like, try to adjust to that when they're inside the cage with them. It's like you have this weird moment. We have to think and consider these new possibilities.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, I think that, you know, like I said, I just. I've just returned from, you know, a reset, and, yeah, now as soon as I leave here, I'm, you know, I'm locked back into samurai mode. You know, what you do in Thailand?

[Joe Rogan]

Were you just trained? Were you just vacationing or doing training?

[Khalil Rountree]

It was incredible, Joe. So my wife and I got invited to Thailand from the Thailand Tourism Authority. So they invited us to come. They hosted us in Bangkok. Amazing. Hotel Dusit Thani Hotel. You have to go if you ever go to. To Bangkok. Dusa Tani. So they hosted us. They took us to, like, a small pro or the smallest province in Thailand called Samut Sankram. And in that province, they are known for having the best coconuts in all of Thailand. So all, like, coconut water, coconut sugar, all that stuff most likely comes from Samutsang Karam. Salt farm. A bee farm.

[Joe Rogan]

What's a salt farm?

[Khalil Rountree]

Salt farm. So they. They made these channels that come from the nearest, like, body of water, and they get the salt. They extract the salt from the sea, and then they create a bunch of different things from it. You know, bath salts.

[Joe Rogan]

Oh, so they do it with some kind of machinery.

[Khalil Rountree]

No, it's like. Yeah, there's a little bit. Yeah, it looks like this. Yeah, exactly.

[Joe Rogan]

Huh. Oh, so they do it by hand.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, they do it by hand. These people do. They are there. Yeah, Just this is their daily life, and so we got to hang out with these people that are. That, like, live in this Province.

[Joe Rogan]

That's how they do it.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, man, I would have never known.

[Joe Rogan]

So how are they getting salt out of the water like that? Like, what do you do to.

[Khalil Rountree]

I honestly, like, I was so excited to be there that I probably missed out on a lot of the details. But that's how it looked like. There were these windmills and I know they're like. Looks like. Yeah, the water evaporates and then there's like, salt left at the bottom and then, yeah, they rake it into a pile and then it goes through other processes. But it's really cool to just experience, like, they're very passionate about. And there's different salts from everywhere. Like, that up there on the right is salt. I don't know where it came from.

[Joe Rogan]

But that stuff that looks like, like dark. Like cereal.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, it's salt.

[Joe Rogan]

Doesn't look like cereal.

[Khalil Rountree]

No, but like, yeah, cornflakes, Toasted cornflakes.

[Joe Rogan]

That's all.

[Khalil Rountree]

But, yeah, and so they had different, like, salts that came from everywhere. And you can see how. How it forms based off of like, the, you know, the whatever ecosystem. Yeah, so. So cool. So that's Samutsakan. We were in Samut Sankram, and. Really cool, man. So they. We went on that. We went there. They took a bunch of, I guess, influencers from around the world and flew them into Thailand to welcome us and show us diff. Just different sides. It's not always about, you know, the beaches in Phuket and all this stuff. Like, they. They took us and then spread us out, so that's where we got to go. And then we went back to Bangkok and had this crazy cool gala. Bulakawa's there, you know, like, yeah, like all these, you know, movie stars and. And the people from just like the Thai government and stuff, just showing people pretty much like the heart of Thailand. So it was very welcoming. It was a really cool way to. To kind of come back and. And feel home again. And then I ended up staying an extra week or two. Same thing. Thailand tourism, you know, made sure that we just continue that experience. So we stayed at some other hotels, did, like the boat ride, cruise down the river, you know, just had dinner. Just really got to live it up and experience, you know.

[Joe Rogan]

So it was all basically vacationing, not.

[Khalil Rountree]

Training, no training, because it was fresh out of the fight. So I flew. I was in Baku two weeks. I flew from Baku to Vegas, stayed in Vegas eight hours, and then flew from Vegas to Thailand. So I, like, went around the world in like 24 hours. So I was fresh out the fight.

[Joe Rogan]

So there was closer to go from Baku to Thailand.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. But the trips were booked separately. So like, in order for that ticket to, you know, to actually work, I had to be in Vegas to fly out. But I did it. I thugged it out. And yeah, it was. It was the best way to recover. Like, this was a good recovery. Recovery for me because I started the camp for Jamal in February is when I heard about it, but then it got postponed due to like, one of his injuries and. Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Wow.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. And now I'm back.

[Joe Rogan]

And when you get a big victory like that over a guy like Jamal, what does that feel like in your head when, you know, the work paid off.

[Khalil Rountree]

To just keep going and to just, to just keep, like, keep digging, you know, like, it's. It's nice because I'm before, you know, like, when I went. I went on that five fight win streak, I was like coming back from Thailand and like, now I'm fully in this, you know, I'm 100 in. And with that, that means, like, I'm just, I'm committed to digging this tunnel. And so, like, a win over Jamal, like, that tunnel isn't open yet. Like, I gotta get the belt first, you know, like, but I'm digging and I saw like, oh, maybe I got this like, cool gemstone. Like, okay, cool, put that in my bag. But like, now I'm, you know, I'm committed. I'm still. I'm still in the mine, you know, and eyes on the prize, man. Yeah, yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

And the prizes. It's very interesting now, right, because Pereira lost on Goliath and they're gonna rematch on that same card.

[Khalil Rountree]

Same card, yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Which is gonna be wild.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

That's the main event. And then co main is Marab and Corey Sandhagen, which is another awesome fight.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

So it's going to be one of those cards.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

I mean, right.

[Khalil Rountree]

It's gonna be a busy night for John Wood. He's got me amarab.

[Joe Rogan]

Those three fights, just. That's an insane card. If, obviously, if it stays together. MMA is rough with that. People get injured. But if that card stays together, the way it's pieced up right now, just with those three, I mean, whoo, what a card. This is an advertisement from BetterHelp. Stress in the workplace is becoming an issue around the world. Did you know that 60% of the global workforce has reported experiencing higher than normal levels of stress? So it's more important than ever that we learn to take some time for ourselves, Plan a nice long holiday. This summer, go hiking, read a book, play video games. I found that even a few minutes of meditation can help. Another great option is therapy. Everyone can benefit from it and it's arguably one of the better long term solutions to stress. Therapy can teach you how to positively cope and manage anxiety while improving your self confidence and self awareness. It can be very empowering. And thanks to better help, therapy is becoming more and more convenient. All it takes is a few clicks to join a session. You can also join from anywhere, whether you're at the beach, on your vacation, or at home after a grueling day of work. Plus, as the largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of expertise. Our listeners get 10% off their first [e-mail] jre that's better. H lp.com jre from what I've seen.

[Khalil Rountree]

So far and like just the, the text that I've gotten, yeah, a lot of people are really excited about it, which hypes me up and makes me want to, you know, train smarter.

[Joe Rogan]

Well, you know, Yuri, who also beat Jamal in one of his last fights, looked fantastic in that fight. And coming off of the Pereira fight, he also made some big changes and big improvements. That's one of the things that makes your fight with him so much more interesting.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, because I, I'm sure from his last, even a loss to Pereira, he, I knew him coming back. He mentioned it like he wants, he wants to fight for the title again. You know what I mean? Like, so he's, he's hungry for the title again as well, and so am I. And yeah, we've both made the adjustments. So I think it's, the thing is.

[Joe Rogan]

Though, it's like he lost twice, you lost once. So it's like it's a little tougher to sell his fight than it is to sell a rematch with you. And I think you probably had more success certainly than him in the second fight, the second right fight, he, he got kind of tuned up.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, I think. Second round. Yeah, second round.

[Joe Rogan]

Well, the first round he got dropped.

[Khalil Rountree]

Hard, dropped hard and then came out. Second round, head kicked.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah, he was out of it going to the second. That left hook landed clean.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

At the end, it could have been the over the end of the fight right there.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, no, those, those. Pereira's got a different power man for sure. Like it's, it, it feels like a stone does.

[Joe Rogan]

It feels remarkably different.

[Khalil Rountree]

Remarkably.

[Joe Rogan]

Really?

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. Getting punched. I've never been punched as hard as I did When I fought Pereira, like, ever in sparring, it. There was just something. It's kind of crazy because, like, you just. I. I give credit where credit's due, you know, Like, I don't want to gas him up too much, but there is just one thing, and it's like, I don't know, I've. I think that it's true. It's real. Yeah, it's. It's real. The power. The power of the strength is real. It's not. It's not anything lucky. It's calculated, but when it lands, it's like, yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Now, he was a guy I talked up big time when he was in Glory. When he. When I found out he was coming over the ufc, I was like, buckle up. Because this is just different. He just hits different. And, you know, his frame's different, too. It's a very. He's.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Moves different.

[Khalil Rountree]

I remember when, like, during the weigh ins when we faced off, and, like, he just bent his arms up like this, and I was like, this is a big man. You know, like, we weigh the same, but, like, you know, like that. I was like, okay, this is a big guy, like, because he just bent his arms and, like, his. His hand was kind of like right near my face, so I could see just like, you know, the mask, the mask. So it's like, boom. And it was.

[Joe Rogan]

I was like, okay, how the did that guy weigh 185?

[Khalil Rountree]

I don't know.

[Joe Rogan]

That's what I want to know.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, I don't know.

[Joe Rogan]

What kind of torture.

[Khalil Rountree]

Torture, man.

[Joe Rogan]

It must have been unbelievable. Well, I think that's one of the things that contributed. It is. Is he knocking him out other than the perfect punch? I mean, Izzy lands at an absolutely perfect punch.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

But I think. I mean, it's well noted that when guys lose that much weight, they're a little bit more vulnerable to getting hit.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. 100, man. And you watched the. The Poirier fight, I'm sure. Oh, yeah. You were there?

[Joe Rogan]

No, no, I wasn't there.

[Khalil Rountree]

You weren't there.

[Joe Rogan]

The last one. You mean with.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, yeah, with Max. Pretty sick, man.

[Joe Rogan]

Very good.

[Khalil Rountree]

I was very happy. And what a cool. Like, I don't know. I like what the UFC is doing now with, like, the exits. You know, like, Anthony Smith got a sick exit. Like, Dustin's got a sick exit. For me. I don't know. That was kind of one of the highlights of. Of that night for me. Not only did I feel like they both put on a really good fight, I just thought, like, what A cool way to. To be able to just like, do that much work and then, like, be appreciated for it, like, win or lose. I think, yeah, maybe the tides are changing a little bit, maybe, you know.

[Joe Rogan]

What way? What do you mean?

[Khalil Rountree]

Like, I felt like, for a long time, and still to this day, it's still pretty, like, heavy, but to lose an MMA was almost kind of like the end of the world to the.

[Joe Rogan]

Fans, because it is in boxing.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

You know, everybody wants to be undefeated.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. Like, undefeated. And like, you know, sometimes, like, someone can be on a tier and then they, you know, they lose and then, like, you can just see the direction of the. Of the support, like, completely shifts, like, ah, fluke, you know. But, yeah, I think that it's, you know, when I see things like, you know, Dustin's exit and all that stuff. Granted, he did a lot in the company and he's. He's done a lot in his career, but to see that kind of gave me hope. Like, okay, maybe this will, you know, give the fans a little bit different perspective and maybe it can start to shift towards, like, appreciating people. Appreciating the fighter, man. Yeah, yeah, like, appreciating the fighter for. For what we do. It's not. It's not the easiest job. We don't get paid the most, you know, like, so, like, yeah, like, a little appreciation goes a long way, win or lose, for sure.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah. I hope the tide is turning in that direction too, man. I just. People need to. It's like, again, it's casuals. It's like, people love. It's one of the things that I really struggled with in the early days of commentary is that regular sports people were starting to do MMA commentary and they were talking about fighters the same way they would talk about, like, a football player who drops a pass or a basketball player who misses a shot. Very disrespectfully choked. They were saying. They were saying a lot of. I was like, hey, hey, hey. You don't know what the. You're talking about. Like, this is the wrong sport to be coming over here and talking like that, for sure. And the early days in particular, there was a lot of that. There was a lot of people that they wanted to get credit for their work by just being that arrogant. You know, there's like, a bunch of those people in the sports world that are just, like, insulting. And then, you know, there's a long history of athletes meeting those people and fucking them up and slapping them. It's super disrespectful. And I don't know why, but. But there, there's like a culture, particularly in America, that embraces that and that likes that because that's the kind of talk that like dumb dumbs have when they're on the job. And like, you see him last night? Fucking loser.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Missed that three pointer. Should have passed the ball like, you know. Shut the fuck up, man. It's. I hate that shit. I hate that shit because I didn't do a lot of team sports, you know, I. I only was involved mostly in combat sports when I was a kid. And so disrespect, like, that was like, God, you don't know what you're even talking about.

[Khalil Rountree]

It's annoying, man.

[Joe Rogan]

You don't understand what this is. These guys are risking their fucking life. It's different than everything else you watch. You miss a basketball, you miss it going into the hoop. Okay.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Next day, you know, you get to shoot some more basketballs and practice and then you'll be playing in a few days and you're back at it.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

With fighting. It's your soul.

[Khalil Rountree]

It's everything.

[Joe Rogan]

100 broken nose people bums is like, shut your mouth.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, dude, stop. Yeah, it's super annoying. And that also brings to thought, like, I went to the ESPYs and that was really cool. My first time going to the ESPYs and seeing all these other athletes, you know, that we see on football, you know, just on, on television, being in the same room, it was amazing. And I remember seeing just like the opening video, and I think there might have been maybe one clip of an MMA fight, but I'm listening to all the like, awards given out and, you know, best play and all this stuff, and I was just thinking, man, like, I know MMA is, is new and I, I'm obviously, it's growing because we're here and you know, they got John Jones in the crowd and they got Marab here, you know, so it's growing. They're. They're starting to acknowledge us. But like, I can't wait until the day where, like, there's more fights on, you know, on. In the ESPYs. Yeah, we're what, we're doing great things. You know what I mean?

[Joe Rogan]

I feel like the most exciting spot.

[Khalil Rountree]

It's so exciting. And even, like I had, you know, pro hockey players, all these guys coming up, like, oh, man, I watch your fight, you know, so like the, even, even the athletes that are playing the NFL, NHL and mlb, all these things, they're, they're even Watching what we're doing. Oh, yeah, for sure. I think it's, you know, I'm excited for the growth of the sport as well. And I, you know, hopefully the next generation, or even sooner will be able to know what it's like to be an MMA fighter and still get, like an SB award.

[Joe Rogan]

I wonder what's going to happen if the UFC doesn't renew the ESPN contract, because there's this negotiation thing that's going on right now, and I don't know where they're going to land. There's talk of Netflix, there's talk of other networks, There's a bunch of different talk. And the. One of the things that we benefit from is espn, not just as the host of the fights, but also covering the fights, all the additional coverage, all the sports center talk, all the different shows that they have on ESPN plus, the post fight shows, those are all huge. You know, the breakdown. People love that.

[Khalil Rountree]

No, they do.

[Joe Rogan]

They love the pre fight breakdowns.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, I think. Yeah, I think it's great. I would.

[Joe Rogan]

Rashad Evans.

[Khalil Rountree]

It's gotta. It's gotta stick around, man. Like, I hope so.

[Joe Rogan]

I love ESPN and I love the. I like getting. Getting it that way off the app.

[Khalil Rountree]

It's easy, you know, And I think it helps us, too. I mean, it definitely helped the sport grow. Right. And I think that people who. I think it helped us as fighters gain those fans who are, you know, football fans.

[Joe Rogan]

Oh, yeah.

[Khalil Rountree]

People who just have ESPN on all day. Yep. You know what I mean? Or in a PT clinic. It's just like, okay. Yep, ESPN on. You know, and to be able to. Yeah. To be shown through that. And I think it's been really helpful to us. And.

[Joe Rogan]

And the thing is, it's like you can get converted to a fan with one fight. All you need is one undercard banger. One undercard banger.

[Khalil Rountree]

You're like, oh, I mean, that was me with the Alex fight. It was. Honestly, dude, like, these people came out of nowhere. Like, one fight changed my life.

[Joe Rogan]

Wow.

[Khalil Rountree]

Like, one fight changed my life, dude. It's. It's.

[Joe Rogan]

Well, you dropped him. You had great moments in that fight.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. You know, dude, off topic, what's it like to be Joe Rogan these days? What do you mean, what's it like? I'm here. Welcome to the Khalil Rowntree Experience. Today's guest, we have Joe Rogan joining us. Joe, how you doing, man?

[Joe Rogan]

It's pretty much the same for me to sit down, talk to cool people.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

And I live my life Pretty insulated. I don't deal with all the hoopla.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

And chitter chatter.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

I just keep it moving.

[Khalil Rountree]

Okay.

[Joe Rogan]

That's the way to stay sane. You gotta just keep it moving.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

My day is basically the same every day. Get up early, write, shoot arrows, get in the cold, plunge, lift weights, work out, do what I gotta do. Come here.

[Khalil Rountree]

Okay.

[Joe Rogan]

It's the same. And then I go to the club, tell jokes, go home, go to bed, rinse, wash, repeat. That's what I do.

[Khalil Rountree]

Nice.

[Joe Rogan]

I. I don't do anything any different. So as chaotic as it seems, it's the same for me.

[Khalil Rountree]

Okay.

[Joe Rogan]

I think what people up is when they get caught up in other people talking about them, and then they get involved in it, and then they start reading things and they start thinking, is that who I am or is this who I am?

[Khalil Rountree]

Who's right?

[Joe Rogan]

Am I a loser? Am I the coolest guy ever? Who am I? You know? Keep working.

[Khalil Rountree]

I love that.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah. It's the only way. The. The only way to not go crazy when you get really famous is to keep doing exactly what you've always been doing and make sure you burn yourself out. You go hard all the time with everything you do, because if you don't, then you're gonna just wonder, you know, am I slipping? Is this what's happening? Is this all gonna go away? Like, that's one thing that people really do freak out about, like, once they start getting some success. What if it goes away?

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, what if it goes away?

[Joe Rogan]

And then you get imposter syndrome. You don't think you should be there. And then if you read a bunch of comments, you know, most comments are negative.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

People telling you over and over again you're a loser. You start going, God damn, am I a loser? You start reading things. I've seen it happen to fighters. I've seen it happen to many fighters where they get too caught up in reading comments and interacting with people in a negative way online. And it's just not good for you. It's not smart. It's not the way. It's not. It's your. Your. You're dealing with the crabs. It's crabs in a bucket. You know, there's a lot of people out there that don't think the only way for them to succeed is to pull you down. It's a dumb mindset. But, of course, there's a lot of people that. They're not that aware of how much time they're wasting. They're not aware of how much energy they're wasting thinking about other people constantly dwelling on the hating and all the stupid shit. And they don't realize that they're stealing from their own life. They don't realize it. They're just caught in this weird trap because we have this undefined new modality of communication, this social media modality, this new thing, this new device that you have that interacts with your brain and oftentimes a very negative way. And you're wasting hours and hours a day. Like how many people look at their screen time on their phone. When you do, you go, whoa, six hours. That's crazy. Yeah, six hours that I could have been doing other shit. Obviously it's like 10 minutes here, five minutes there, but it fucking adds up, man. It's as a work shift. Yeah. And it's, it's really time, it's really energy, it's focus that's just being robbed from you and with no reward. That's what they don't understand. It's like you're getting robbed and you're not getting anything back. There's nothing positive coming. You're not growing, you're not getting smarter, you're not getting. You're not like contemplating. You got. Not getting wiser. No. You just fucking. It's just, you just.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, just being like.

[Joe Rogan]

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[Khalil Rountree]

Take it out of you, I guess. Yeah. Wow. Dude, that's. No, that's, that's great and it's good. It's a good reminder and Refreshment for me to hear you say that, because. How do I put it? Like, let's say if I get asked question, like, how's Joe Rogan? Oh, you've been on Joe Rogan podcast. Like, how is you? And I'm always like, Joe's great. Like, tell me about him. This is he. That I'm like, dude, I'll say. I say this. I can tell you here. I'll just give you like four things. Every time we talk, it's good. We hang out, we talk. I feel like he likes me, I like him. It's always a great time. Two, there's a lot of books. When I walk in there, there's a bunch of books, all types of different books. I think Joe's a curious guy. I think he's a smart guy. Well, read a lot of cool things and it's, it's always just based around like. Yeah, when I think of you, I think just genuine dude, good vibes.

[Joe Rogan]

I feel the same way about you.

[Khalil Rountree]

You know, and it's always, it's always fun to, to just come here and just like chop it up with you. That's why, like, I guess I just needed that own. Like, I just wanted that for myself to just be like, joe, what's up? How you doing? And you tell me like, cool. I'm. I'm doing the same thing. I wake up, I go to the gym, I shoot my bows. I, you know, I go to the club. I get like that to me, to know that just personally, without being one of those people that are just like sucked into my phone or whatever, to just hear it come from your mouth, face to face, that that's what you're up to. That makes me feel.

[Joe Rogan]

I think it's the only way to live.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

I think getting. I mean, I've been sucked into my phone before for sure. But now for the most part, if I spend time on my phone at all, it's watching things I watch, like YouTube videos, but it's always stuff on. Like, it's either watching MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, boxing, or watching like YouTube videos on ancient history. The interesting things.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

So I'm not interacting with opinions and people.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. And all that stuff. Yeah, the stuff that'll piss you off. Yeah. And, and take from you. Do you ever watch like fighters YouTube channels?

[Joe Rogan]

Oh, yeah, for sure.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. Have you seen mine?

[Joe Rogan]

I have seen yours.

[Khalil Rountree]

Okay, cool. You like it?

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah, it's great.

[Khalil Rountree]

Okay. It kind of, kind of inspired by you a little bit. I remember you saying in the Past, like, oh, you should start podcasts. Like, maybe not yet, but how about a YouTube channel?

[Joe Rogan]

So people love behind the scenes stuff. They really do. They love to see people train. Training in particular. You know, I spent a lot of time watching USYK training before this last Dubois fight.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, Is it crazy? I saw something the other day, it was like, USYK swimming five hours.

[Joe Rogan]

I was like, oh, my God, he's an animal, man. I mean, he's so fucking good. He's so good. I mean, think about what that guy has done. He beat AJ twice, he beat Tyson Fury twice, and now he beat Dubois twice. That's crazy.

[Khalil Rountree]

No, it's incredible.

[Joe Rogan]

Those are two of the best, like, of this era. I think he's one of the best of all time. I really do. I think he's one of the best heavyweights of all time. And his movement is so different. One of the things that was interesting when they were talking about the fight and AJ was. Tony Bellows was talking about when he fought him, and AJ was saying that when he fought him, it was the most exhausted he's ever been. Because he's always moving. You never. You're not. There's no rest with him. There's like constant. This constant twitching under fire the whole time. You're constantly thinking, when is this coming? There's no silent agreements. There's no relaxation. There's no, you know, there's no. There's no rounds off. Everything is. He's putting it on you and moving constantly. Like I always say, he's like a giant. Lomachenko got it. They were both trained by the same guy.

[Khalil Rountree]

Oh, were they?

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah. Lomachenko's father trained Usyk as well.

[Khalil Rountree]

Ah, yeah. So there's something.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah, there's obviously gravity keeps him from moving the way Lomachenko does, because Lomachenko is so small. Yeah, he can, like, dance around you for sure, in footwork, just majestic footwork. But Usyk's footwork is like, it's. There's a bunch of breakdowns of the final combination that he hit Daniel with. And, you know, he steps off to the side and lands that left hook from hell. God, it was good. You could see Daniel was already tired. You could see it.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

It's just dealing.

[Khalil Rountree]

There's got to be something like, you know, Lomachenko's dad, like some type of philosophy or something. You know what I mean? Like, these guys just kind of tap into, you know, because, like, to be a big guy. Yeah. There's footwork and all that stuff, but I think, man, Shout out to the.

[Joe Rogan]

Coach, like, yeah, it's skill, man. It's, it's a skillful type of boxing. It's like a, you know, there's, there's guys that are like heavy bangers and they rely on that. And there's guys that have, you know, good defense and they rely on that. But his thing is like this constant movement and constant feints and jabs and it's all with a purpose. Everything is like setting you up. Everything is reading what your reaction to this is and anticipating what your reaction is. When's that right hand coming? Duck under counter. It's like constant. The jab was going in an upward direction. Sometimes he was catching Daniel with this, like, upward jab. Here's the. Oh, okay. Here's a breakdown.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, I've only seen highlights. I'd actually.

[Joe Rogan]

The movement, man, it's so good, man. It's so good, the movement.

[Khalil Rountree]

Do you know what's his age? Damn, he's 38. Oh, my God. Yeah, that was a solid left.

[Joe Rogan]

Old. He's old for a boxer, you know, and the fact that he was a cruiserweight champion too. And that was the first drop. But here's the big one. The left hook that he, that he knocks him out was extraordinary, man. What are they showing here? Okay, the counters. Oh, this video is just about his weight transferring. Yeah. No, it's amazing. I mean, he's one of the most skillful heavyweights of all time. I think you have to go back to Cassius Clay.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Like, before they took his title away, before they made him sit out for three years. Like, oh, there's the final left hook. Oh, my goodness, look at this. Counter steps off to the left and then full weight into it really long.

[Khalil Rountree]

Like you can tell that. Yeah, that weight transfer was everything.

[Joe Rogan]

It's just constant footwork and movement and a lot of his training is that.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, you can see it. He's never stationary.

[Joe Rogan]

Exactly.

[Khalil Rountree]

Like, his feet are never in one place. They're constant, constantly moving.

[Joe Rogan]

Well, there's a lot of Russian fighters who fight that way, you know, and obviously he's from Ukraine, but, you know, Bival Bival fights that way. There's a lot of these eastern block fighters that have this, this movement style. Like there's a constant, like, movement style. And it's like there's a lot of value in that, man. Like when you see flat footed guys and you see guys who fight like that, you go, man, there's something in that, like. Yeah, that's extraordinary.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, flat footed guys. I feel like A lot of them, that's where they generate their power. Right. Kind of like relying on that. Like a Deontay Wilder, you know? Like. Sure, if his feet are planted in Europe against the ropes, like, bye, bye.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah. You know, like George Foreman in his day.

[Khalil Rountree]

Oh, man.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah, it's heavy plotting, you know, like, moving forward like this, covering up, just. But everything has just death on it.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. You know, just looping them.

[Joe Rogan]

But a guy like Dubois, he can do that.

[Khalil Rountree]

He.

[Joe Rogan]

That's the thing. That's how he fucked up. Aj. He has that crazy power. But when you're not getting hit and you're just moving away, and this guy's just whiffing these nuclear bombs by and over again, and then after a while, he's like. He's, like, headed into the 30s. Like, oh, Jesus Christ. Yeah, this guy is fucking not there, and I'm exhausted. And then you're dealing with him. Like, sparks are flying every time he's hitting you. And you don't know when these punches are coming because they're coming from these weird angles. And every time you throw a punch, he's countering you, and you're. You're nervous that which one of these is gonna, like, really rock me, dude.

[Khalil Rountree]

To be in that situation, like, during a fight is. Ugh. It's the worst. I remember, like, feeling like that in the Alex fight. It just. There was a few, like, jabs and stuff. I was obviously just dizzy and just dealing with, like, okay, this guy's not slowing down and I'm hurting, you know?

[Joe Rogan]

Like, yeah. Around the fourth, he started getting. That time when was the fight stopped?

[Khalil Rountree]

Fourth round.

[Joe Rogan]

It was the fourth.

[Khalil Rountree]

Fourth round, I think, like, probably two and a half minutes in something like that.

[Joe Rogan]

He started getting that rhythm where he was, like, moving away from stuff and then. Yeah, yeah, yeah, coming back in.

[Khalil Rountree]

Moving in.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah.

[Khalil Rountree]

But it was unusual, obviously. Deceptive, but, like, my eye was shut. It was. I was. I thought I was blind in my eye, but I was like, okay, whatever. This is just. I was. I don't know what was. What was going on with me. And I was so excited to be there. And so even. Even in the fight, like, not being able to see out of my right eye at all. Like, not blurred vision. It was just, like. All I saw was white light. Like, wow. That's all I saw. And in that moment, I was like, oh, I'm blind. It.

[Joe Rogan]

Wow. Yeah.

[Khalil Rountree]

Like, literally. So I don't remember. I don't know what it was. Like, maybe. All I know is I just saw a Light coming in, couldn't see shadows.

[Joe Rogan]

When did that start happening?

[Khalil Rountree]

That was sometime in the fourth round.

[Joe Rogan]

So you got hit with something.

[Khalil Rountree]

I hit something. Maybe like a jab. Boom. And I just remember, like, my eye wasn't closed all the way yet, but, like, all I could see was just white light. And I was like, oh, shit. I think I went blind. But whatever, like, let's go, like, you know, like internally. Like, it was such this, like, light, positive voice going on the whole time in that fight.

[Joe Rogan]

How do you think you developed that?

[Khalil Rountree]

I don't know, man. It could be like a series of just like life experiences and my, like, I don't know, books that I read or just like things that I try to practice or some enlightenment thing that I'm trying to get or. You know what I mean? Like, I think. I think that it comes from that because I'm. I'm just. I'm kind of always searching for the light in, in short, you know, so.

[Joe Rogan]

God, it's got to be so hard, though, in that situation, because generally speaking, there's a moment in fights where you see guys starting to get hit and tuned up and, and you see hesitation and you see panic. And you didn't show any of that. You were getting beat up, but you were firing back. You were fighting at the best that you could. It was very obvious.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, to the very end. Well, you know what? So right before we went out or right before we got to the arena, my coach Lorenzo's like, all right, your nose is already cut, so it's going to open up. And he's like looking at me in my face, you know, like, he's like, face to face with me, he's like, your nose is already cut. Accept it. It's gonna open up. First time you get hit, it's gonna open up. All right, that's out of the way. He's like, now expect that you're gonna get the beat out of you. You're gonna go to bloody war. He's like, you might break a hand, you might break a leg, you might get your jaw broken, but you don't give up. You keep going. We come out of this fight victorious. And he's like, you hear me? And I'm like, yeah. And he's like, so just soak it in. Now you're about to go to the full on war. It's going. You're like, you know, like, you're about to go to hell. Like, he's just like, in my face, you know, and he's like, we're face to face. And he's like, I need you to accept it now, son. Because he kind of looks at me like. Like his son. He treats me that way, and I appreciate it. He's like, you're. He's like, but we're. We're winning this fight, son, and you're going to go to. You're going to war. And I was just swallowed that. Walked into the arena, just kind of accepting it already, you know what I mean? Like, I wasn't like, oh, I was just like, okay, like, Lorenzo said it, all right, this is what it is. This is what it is. And so, like, in the locker room, you know, in my warm ups and everything, I think subconsciously I'm just like, already programming myself for the worst of the worst, but not in a way to where I'm like, oh, I'm going to lose this fight.

[Joe Rogan]

Right?

[Khalil Rountree]

Like, I'm like expanding, you know?

[Joe Rogan]

Wow.

[Khalil Rountree]

Just like, internally, like, okay, I'm ready for this. All right.

[Joe Rogan]

Boom.

[Khalil Rountree]

All right. My hands are gonna get broken, My face is gonna get split up. All right? And every fight's not like this. Like, not every opponent. We have the same. You know what I mean? The same thing. Because the strategy is always different for everybody. But some, they. He just had a feeling that this is the type of fight was going to be. So when it got down to that point, I think I had already accepted it. So the only thing I could do was just. Just enjoy it, you know, Because I.

[Joe Rogan]

Was like, that's such a crazy thing to say.

[Khalil Rountree]

I knew it was gonna happen. Like, I just knew it. So, yeah, if I remember, dude, you're like the third round, fourth round, something in there. I'm just like, thank you. Like, this is cool. Wow.

[Joe Rogan]

Fighting for the world, you know, the.

[Khalil Rountree]

Crowd, I'm like, oh, my God. Eyes closed. Boom. I think I'm blind. I'm like, oh, oh, he's not going back. You know? And they're like, even to the last, I'm like swinging. I can't see. Boom. Body shot hurts. I'm like, backing up a bit. But, like, I just remember, like, the whole time, this. Just this very, like, positive feeling, man. It's like. And that's why, like, those shorts are framed in, you know, like, I got the shorts frame. Never washed them, you know, blood still on them. Gloves, never wiped them off. And I just put it in a shadow box. It's on my wall, you know, like, that for me is just. It was a. Just a pivotal moment for me just in my life. As a person, as a human, you know, just. Yeah, that's like, the beginning, I think I was like, that's the beginning of the wow of the journey now.

[Joe Rogan]

So that's wild. The world title fight is the beginning of the journey, I thought.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, I thought, you know, like, no, this is like, that was the beginning because when I was there, I felt like I belonged. Like, it wasn't foreign to me. Like, you know, final, the, you know, main event, lights go dark, it's just the spotlights, you know, we. I've only ever watched it, so.

[Joe Rogan]

Right.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. I was like, okay, this is.

[Joe Rogan]

It feels different.

[Khalil Rountree]

It felt like it was supposed to feel, if that makes sense, like, everything. I felt like that vision that I've had, and it was like, being there, and I was just like, yeah, feels about right. Like, wow, cool. Pereira right in front of me. Hell, yeah. This feels right. Like, this feels like. Yeah, this is it right here. And then obviously, like, you know, the loss was. It took a little bit of an emotional tone because my focus was to win, and that was my, you know, that was my intention. But I think, like, in hindsight, I look at it and it's like, no, my. I was meant to be there to experience it and to learn from it, because the things that I did learn and experience from that fight have made me a better person for sure.

[Joe Rogan]

That's awesome. Yeah, that's awesome. Well, it really showed it in the Jamal Hill fight, because you. You came in that fight, it just looked like you were. You had gone through something and come out of the other end. That's what it looked like. Because, again, Jamal's world champion. He's a dangerous, dangerous man, you know, and you look supremely confident in that fight.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, a lot of. A lot of training, man. Like, I. I understand that there's a lot. I'm a striker, you know, like, that's just. I love to strike. Don't stray away from a striking match. But I think that, like, lately I've been training a lot with Buchecha, who just got signed to ufc. Incredible guy. Amazing. Like, multiple time Jiu Jitsu champion, rolling with guys like Luke Rockhold. I mean, being able to be, like, on a team with those guys and us train together has really helped me as well, because it's just given me more confidence in my abilities and my development as like a championship level fighter. So, yeah, I mean, like, even to I, you know, I brought you those shorts today. The Santo studio once, man, we're. We're building an incredible team down there. I think it's, like, the first time. Are you familiar with what we're doing at all? Okay, so, like, over at Santo Studio, Newport beach, we've got Santo Studio, we've got Jackson. Jackson's like, men's jewelry. Yeah, men's jewelry. But there's also, like, Jackson Media House. And over there, we're trying to include all MMA fighters, extreme sports athletes. Like, give them, like, a platform to showcase, you know, their talents and. And. And build themselves. But Santo Studio, the clothing brand, we have the sickest team. So we've got, like, Bucecha, we've got Armand, we've got. I mean, Dillashaw's behind it. We got Rockhold, man. The list goes on. Gabriel Silva, Anderson Silva's son on just, like, the fighting side. But then it's like, Paul Rodriguez, skateboarder Nigel Houston, Ryan Scheckler. And then we got motocross riders like Jet and Hunter Lawrence, and, like, so there's all these kind of, like, extreme sports athletes under one umbrella, but, like, in one place in Newport beach, and we all support each other under, like, the same type of brand.

[Joe Rogan]

And what is your role in this ambassador?

[Khalil Rountree]

I was a part of the vision before. There was, like, the first T shirt ever printed, like, Bear. And I had a conversation. He's like, hey, I got this vision. And I'm like, dude, I'm behind you. Like, I love how this sounds. It's right up my alley. Sounds creative. There's clothes involved, there's training involved. So he's gone to just build this. We got the Santo Performance Studio, huge gym, jiu jitsu mats, weightlifting, but also, like, shopping it. Dude, it's. It's. It's unheard of, but it's so cool and, like, it's put us all in the same place to be able to, like, train with each other, collaborate with each other. Like, if it wasn't for Santo, I would have never been able to train with guys like Buchecha and Bernardo and Leo Vera, you know, the Checkmat guy. So, like, now there's a partnership with Checkmat, which makes me, like, have access to training with these guys. It's. I would have never been able to, you know what I mean, have that same, like, connection. So we're just doing everything we can to just, you know, like, support each other within this, like, MMA community, help each other grow and. And just like, expand and also include the community within right now, Newport Beach. But, I mean, I'm sure that the vision is bigger than just that.

[Joe Rogan]

So this is something also that you can do once you retire.

[Khalil Rountree]

I would love to, yeah. I mean, right now, like, I think the understanding from Bear is that, like, I'm just focused on becoming a champion. But I'm sure he knows that, like, I'm heavily interested in, you know, doing something because I believe in the brand. So, yeah, after this, maybe there's something. But right now, you know, I have no distractions.

[Joe Rogan]

Right.

[Khalil Rountree]

You know what I mean? Like, I have no distractions. I'm, you know, I'm just making sure that I'm fighting and that, like, my money's in the right place and places.

[Joe Rogan]

Do you have a time set in your head where you want to exit the game? How about this?

[Khalil Rountree]

I can say that I would like for my current contract to be my last contract.

[Joe Rogan]

How many fights you have in your current contract left?

[Khalil Rountree]

Six or seven.

[Joe Rogan]

And that's it.

[Khalil Rountree]

That's what you'd like in an ideal world or, like, maybe sometime down, like, there's like, a renegotiation, and it's not for as many fights, but, like, I think six or seven more fights would be nice and be able to, like, look around and say, like, okay, is this enough? You know, like, Right. Is this okay for me to step away from and, like, am I secure? Is my. You know, is my family secure? Okay, then. Cool. Because time waits for no man. Yeah. Don't want to be 41.

[Joe Rogan]

How old are you right now?

[Khalil Rountree]

I turned 35 in February.

[Joe Rogan]

So you're still in your prime?

[Khalil Rountree]

Still in my prime, so they say.

[Joe Rogan]

Especially for a larger athlete.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. And I. I don't have music.

[Joe Rogan]

38.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. I don't have the wear and tear of a lot of the fighters. Like, I didn't grow up wrestling and all that stuff. So 15 years into, that's any type of.

[Joe Rogan]

It's a big factor.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. Sports or athletics?

[Joe Rogan]

Football is a big factor. Wrestling's a big factor. Knees, back, neck.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, yeah. But, yeah, I mean, like, the. By the way that things are looking, it'd be nice, like, October 4th win over Yuri sets me up for the title fight against. Here's an ideal situation. Win over Yuri in October, Alex beats uncle. I have rematch for the belt against Alex sometime in the beginning, like the first half of next year. Right. Beat Alex in the rematch, get the belt and the champion all summer. Then somewhere in between summer and fall, there's a child that comes into play. My wife's not pregnant yet, but it'd be nice.

[Joe Rogan]

Oh, you got this idea.

[Khalil Rountree]

It'd be nice. You know what I mean?

[Joe Rogan]

Vision board.

[Khalil Rountree]

That's the. Like everyone says, like, all these guys, success. You got to have a vision, man. Like, like, you got to have a vision in life. You do, you know, like, if you don't have a vision or something to aim at, like, what are you doing? You know? So, like, yeah, these are like, you know, these are my vision. But there's, like, goals in between, you know, Goal be eerie. Goal, get another shot at the title. Vision. Start my family. Finish my fight contract. Be done with fighting. Live in Asia.

[Joe Rogan]

In Asia?

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm moving back to Thailand, man.

[Joe Rogan]

Really?

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

100, 1,000%. Why?

[Khalil Rountree]

Because that's where I want to be. That's where I belong.

[Joe Rogan]

Really?

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. I belong. I belong in. There's. Right. Right now. What? Like, my heart is telling me I belong in three places. Either Thailand, Hong Kong, or South Korea.

[Joe Rogan]

Why those places? Obviously Thailand. You know, you had amazing experiences there.

[Khalil Rountree]

Hong Kong's amazing. I love it there. It's good. I just came back from Hong Kong as well, so in that Thailand trip, I went to Hong Kong. I love how it's set up. I love the structure of the city. I love that there's so much outdoor stuff involved. So, like, when I imagine the rest of my life and how I want to live that after fighting, it's like, let's say I do have my family and there's a child in play. Okay, cool. If I live in Hong Kong, I can just walk outside and take my child for a hike right outside the house. And it not be like, I don't have to even own a car. I can just. Everything's walking. You know what I mean? It's like the way that this city's set up, it's set up for people to. To walk, to interact, you know, it's very beautiful. It's not, you know, I love it. It's just for me, when I'm there, I'm like, ah, this makes sense. Like, especially with the vision of, like, who I want to be after fighting.

[Joe Rogan]

And why South Korea.

[Khalil Rountree]

I like the culture in South Korea, man. I really do. Like, when I see that, like, when I. When I. When I see just like, the, like, the culture in South Korea, the people, how I envision just, like, my family interacting with society and stuff. Like, to me, another thing that just. That makes sense and Thailand for me is it just. It feels like home. The language is very, like, easy for me to, you know, to speak and to, like, learn more of and to where I could be fluent. I love the community there. I love how people live their life there. Amazing. A lot of growth happening in Thailand.

[Joe Rogan]

It's also a lot less expensive.

[Khalil Rountree]

A lot less expensive, for sure. And to be able to, like. So, like, let's say in Thailand, I'm American, right? We're all kind of born, like, to live the American dream. I can live the American dream anywhere I want. But for me, if I could live the American dream in Thailand, that would be ideal. If I can live the American dream in Hong Kong, that'd be ideal, you know, but it's a lot more expensive in Hong Kong. It's a lot more expensive.

[Joe Rogan]

Do you think you say this because you live in Vegas? Because Vegas is kind of a crazy place in America?

[Khalil Rountree]

Not so much like, I've been to many different places. I mean, I've been almost everywhere in the States when I was on tour. And, you know, Austin's nice. Do I want to live in Austin? No. California? Absolutely not. New York? Absolutely not. Florida. Don't like it. Shout out to my Florida fans, like, eli, I love you guys. You know, I'm not saying anything against. Don't hate me if I don't give you a place, if you, you know, whatever, but there's nowhere. There's nowhere else in the world that I feel the way that I feel when I'm there.

[Joe Rogan]

That's interesting. Has that always been the case, or is it just, like. Does it represent something to you in terms of, like, personal growth or a vibe, the relaxing vibe of it?

[Khalil Rountree]

Because it's not so much, like. It's not so much like, when I'm there, I'm relaxing. You know what I mean? Like, it's very busy. Like, there's a lot going on, but I just. I can. I realize how I feel inside, you know, and how I'm interacting with people who I don't even know on a daily basis. And when I think about, like, I always. I'm constantly thinking about, like. Like my future or my vision, you know, and when I think about. And when I think about my vision, my. My future and my vision, there's a child involved. And I try to think about, like, okay, as a dad, how do I want to operate with the child? Or, like, how do. How do I want, you know, our child to experience life? And there's just, you know, a lot of different questions and visions that come. And the way that I've seen it or, like, the way that I envision it, it's kind of like. It makes more sense that way, you know, like, if I could. If I could let's say take away some of the like stress of raising a child from my wife by like, let's say hiring help or you know, having. Instead of having a car, having a driver to have us get through traffic so that we can still enjoy life and you know, go on like a family, you know, dinner or take the kid here or whatever. But I don't want to drive the damn car because there's too much traffic and you know what I mean?

[Joe Rogan]

Right. Like relax.

[Khalil Rountree]

So I can relax. But we can still have family time. We can still do the things that families and kids do. But it not cost me so much.

[Joe Rogan]

Right.

[Khalil Rountree]

You know what I mean?

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah.

[Khalil Rountree]

Like, if I wanted to get a live in helper here in the States to help my wife, it cost a fortune.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah.

[Khalil Rountree]

It's almost impossible. Possible. But if I wanted to get a live in helper, let's say in Hong Kong, it cost me a thousand or less dollars a month to have a full time live in helper, you know, and there's nothing wrong with it there. That's just the culture. Like in Hong Kong you have just groups of women who are live in helpers that like on their off day in the summer or on their off day, like on Sunday you'll see them. Everybody's just in the streets with tents, combing each other's hair, boom boxes out, sharing food. It's just a part of it. Like that's not like literally tents in the streets everywhere. Jamie, if you want to pull that up you. It's crazy, dude. I don't know if you've ever seen it. No, but it's so cool because like they enjoy the life. But like Hong Kong helpers hang out or enjoying a day off or something. It's, it's just a way of life. It's a lifestyle. It's. It's just a new perspective that I've never seen like, that I didn't see here. And I like it. I just think like for me and my development and growth as just like a human being, that's just kind of where I, it's like a never ending, like finding out what's next, you know, I mean like I'm. I've constantly got to adapt and evolve. Like I'm American, I have to learn a new language. I've got to adapt to a new culture. I've got to learn new rules and laws and all this stuff. And like, cool, sign me up. Like, like, because that's just. I don't want my life to be like, okay, I Know it all and I'm done and I'm just, okay, cool. And I got the kid and I'm just, you know, like, right. I want to continue to like, grow. To grow, right. As well as, you know, showing someone else how to grow. Yeah. See, like, they're not homeless. They're just hanging out on their off day because they can't. And they like, they enjoy it. No one's mad to be doing this, huh? You know what I mean? Like, it's a totally safe environment for these people to be out here. They're not interrupting anybody. They're literally just. This is a day off. Like, oh, what are you doing on your day off? I'm gonna go hang out with the other helpers around the city and we're just like, we're just chilling.

[Joe Rogan]

Interesting.

[Khalil Rountree]

Because the, the to live there, like, the places are really small, you know, like, if you have a thousand square foot apartment, you, you're most likely a multi millionaire. So most of the life, like, lifestyle is spent outdoors.

[Joe Rogan]

So for them to go outside like this. And this is like a normal thing on a Sunday.

[Khalil Rountree]

Normal, yeah, on a Sunday or on a weekend. Yeah, absolutely.

[Joe Rogan]

And like Hong Kong, the city is supposed to be very safe too, right?

[Khalil Rountree]

Very safe, man. Very, very safe. Very safe, Very clean. Like, when I think about the stuff that I had to go through as a kid and just like the dangers and, you know, right. I'm like, how about like, my kid doesn't necessarily have to go be worried about certain things or, you know, I mean, being worried about like getting shot at school or like, like just different things. It's just kind of like, what can I take off? Like, what mental load can I take off? My offspring? In the beginning, I can take on whatever. I'm a grown adult, like, whatever.

[Joe Rogan]

But what do you think you're going to be doing with your time other than that when you're done fighting?

[Khalil Rountree]

I have zero business experience because I've just been so dedicated to fighting. But I do want to, like, start to learn, man. Like, I want to learn business, how to operate a business, because I'm creative and I have ideas, but I don't have structure. I don't have, you know, really, like the right mentorship. So, like, yeah, like, I'd like to have multiple businesses.

[Joe Rogan]

Like, what kind of businesses? What do you want to get into?

[Khalil Rountree]

Something, like, obviously something where you can express your creativity. Express creativity, but also like, like something that helps me and people, like health, you know, health, Health products.

[Joe Rogan]

Is this one of those things that you can't really think about right now.

[Khalil Rountree]

I can't, because it's just like, I'm. You know what I mean? Like, I'm locked in. I don't want to get too distracted.

[Joe Rogan]

But, like, I think that's a giant. One of the signs that someone. When. When people spread themselves too thin, like, there's a bunch of fighters when things start going really well, they start getting movie offers, and then you see them on talk shows. You see a lot of this, a lot of that. Like, oh, yeah, you're getting outside of your lane.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

And you're spreading yourself thin. And there's just no way to really be locked into training while also doing that stuff. So when you see someone preparing for a major fight and they see a lot of extracurricular activities, I'm always like, yeah. Like, Daniel Dubois had a fucking party the day of his fight.

[Khalil Rountree]

Before the fight.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah.

[Khalil Rountree]

Oh, boy.

[Joe Rogan]

It's a big issue now. People are talking about there's, like, 90 people at his place.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Partying the day.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Of the fight.

[Khalil Rountree]

That's absurd.

[Joe Rogan]

Right?

[Khalil Rountree]

That takes a lot of energy just.

[Joe Rogan]

Being around those people.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

When it's being.

[Khalil Rountree]

Even if you're just sitting in the party, like, your energy is being zapped. Right. Yeah. And obviously, if it's your fight night, everyone wants to talk to you. Everybody has questions.

[Joe Rogan]

I just can't imagine why anybody would.

[Khalil Rountree]

Do that or what.

[Joe Rogan]

There's videos of him hanging out, partying with everybody. I mean, not drinking nothing.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Crazy. But obviously, like, interacting with loud people, talking. A lot of music, a lot of, you know.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. No communication zaps the nervous system for sure. Like, how do you expect to go fight Usyk after your nervous system has.

[Joe Rogan]

Been zapped from a. I understand it. When I saw it after the fight was over, I was like, look, he's probably gonna lose anyway.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

But what is that?

[Khalil Rountree]

No, it's tough, man. I honestly, you know, I. I agree with that. I think this fight in Baku really got, like. It made me realize how important, like, being locked in is because I was abs. I think that's why I got sick, to be honest, Joe. I think that's why I got sick, because I was just exhausted. No. Exhausted from the things that I had to do from my obligations. Oh. So the week. Obligations of the week that I landed, I had to do. I had to do, like, four or five days of filming with DraftKings for this, like, online. So it's like, I just landed. But then, like, I didn't get time to adjust because the Next day, we got to wake up, you know, first. First filming sessions at 9, 9am oh, and then. So we're like, week. No, the. The week before fight. The week before fight, you know? Yeah, exactly. So, like, I land and they came. They went to my house, 2am I'm not bitching about this because the guys were great, but this is just like, my experience.

[Joe Rogan]

How much time did you have to spend doing that?

[Khalil Rountree]

Well, I mean, we. We spent. You know, we spent a week of filming.

[Joe Rogan]

How much time each day?

[Khalil Rountree]

Five, six hours?

[Joe Rogan]

What?

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

What?

[Khalil Rountree]

That's crazy. It wasn't every day that we. I don't remember, but yeah, it was like we. We did a lot of filming that week, you know, for this content piece or whatever. And then as soon as they left, then it was fight week. And then I had all the media stuff for Fight Week.

[Joe Rogan]

Oh, my God.

[Khalil Rountree]

You know what I mean? And I think by time, like, with jet lag, with training, involved with the filming, with all of that, I think by time fight, we came. Like, my body's like you.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah.

[Khalil Rountree]

That'S exactly how it felt.

[Joe Rogan]

How are you doing that? They needed you for five, six hours in a day.

[Khalil Rountree]

Like, you know, I. Here's the thing. I'm grateful because I wouldn't have been able to experience Baku the way that I did had I not done this. So it's like, right, you made some extra money. Yeah. So we go to the old town and then, like, get a tour through Old Town for three hours. And the lady's like, this is this. So I got information and they're filming me. You know, get information and then from the old town, then we go somewhere else and, you know, so where ideally you would be resting or doing my own training. Yeah. Resting or adjusting.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah. But when you're. When you're forced to interact, like, that's. I mean, you're dealing with something where you have this monumental moment that's coming up in 14 days, and then you just.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, but I just. Like, that's what I'm saying. Like, my. My main thing was like, embrace it. You know what I mean? Like, just embrace it. Take it all in. Yeah, it's fucking hard. But that mentality can only get you so far. Right? That's why, like, I really. I feel like I'm gonna get fucking eaten alive for this.

[Joe Rogan]

Not if you don't read it.

[Khalil Rountree]

I really feel like that was like Alex having so many fights last year and obligations and travel and all that when he. I feel like that probably had a big. Played a Big factor in why his performance was the way it was against Uncle I.

[Joe Rogan]

Well, supposedly he went into that fight with Norovirus and he had a up hand.

[Khalil Rountree]

I honestly, like, I believe.

[Joe Rogan]

Seemed like. I believe he wasn't hitting the gas as much. You know, it seemed like he was a little bit more. Was also. Uncle I was good, man. He is good. That guy's really good. I mean, he's. He's. You're smiling.

[Khalil Rountree]

I can't smile.

[Joe Rogan]

You can, but you smile like, come on, man.

[Khalil Rountree]

I'm just smiling.

[Joe Rogan]

What do you. What is your opinion on Uncle Live?

[Khalil Rountree]

I don't have one.

[Joe Rogan]

You don't have any opinion at all?

[Khalil Rountree]

No. Not one?

[Joe Rogan]

No, because he's the champ. Okay. I get it.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. Let's go back to Alex Norovirus.

[Joe Rogan]

Are you just not a fan of his?

[Khalil Rountree]

I can say confidently. Am I a fan? Absolutely not.

[Joe Rogan]

As a human or a fighter?

[Khalil Rountree]

Both.

[Joe Rogan]

Okay, so have you had bad interactions with him as a human?

[Khalil Rountree]

He just talks shit. And I hate people that talk shit. Like, dude, I just don't like it. I don't like people who talk shit for no reason. If I didn't say anything to you, if I've never mentioned your name, then why are you talking to me or about me or disrespecting me?

[Joe Rogan]

Well, people talk because he gets some attention. And I think a guy like Un Goliath, there was a long period in his career where he didn't talk shit and he wasn't getting a lot of attention.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

I mean, look, he had that fight with Jan Blachowicz.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yep.

[Joe Rogan]

Where it was for the title. It went to a draw. No one gets the title. It was a crazy experience. Right. And very good fight.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

And people were mad at him, and he had to sit on the shelf for a while. It was kind of fucked up.

[Khalil Rountree]

So that makes him talk shit about me.

[Joe Rogan]

I think he talks shit about everybody. Because you realize, look, this is what happened to Colby Covington. This is like, there's a thing that happens. Like, if you talk shit, you will get more eyes, more attention, more money, and you'll get fights. If you do not talk shit, there's a possibility that you'll be cut. I know it's not you. It's not you.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Look.

[Khalil Rountree]

And here I am, and I'm still getting good fights and good money.

[Joe Rogan]

And it's like, as is Pereira. Right. Pereira just fights. I mean, he doesn't even speak English, and he's beloved over here.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

You know, but you can. You can get by with Just your performance. But some people, they. They think like, man, I gotta get people to fucking pay attention. There's so many killers out there. There's so many people that are popular. I gotta do something.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, so fight better.

[Joe Rogan]

I hear you.

[Khalil Rountree]

That's. That. That's the only thing is like.

[Joe Rogan]

Like, it's just a talk.

[Khalil Rountree]

I hate it, dude. Like, I hate it. Like, it. It really hates.

[Joe Rogan]

Because you're a martial artist and you feel like it doesn't have a place.

[Khalil Rountree]

I just hate it because it's unnecessary and it's like. And. And even as an adult, like, I had to deal with this my whole life.

[Joe Rogan]

Right.

[Khalil Rountree]

And it's. It's a toxic way of being. And it's passing along through social media and kids are getting beat up for it and. And we're fucking grown men on a large platform where people are looking up to us for many different things and they envision us as these fucking gladiators. And this is what you're choosing to do as a. We have a responsibility. I feel like as athletes, as champion, number fucking one, as champion, you have a responsibility. You have a belt around your waist and all these eyes and microphone. And that's what you're going to choose to say is talk shit and degrade my name. And I'm not even above you. I'm not even challenging you for a fight. And you want to mention me. And like, that to me is just like, dude, spend your time wisely so that it's. In a way, it's motivation for me because I'm like, I just won't do that. Like, I think that there's so many different things that can be done when you have that belt. Like, that belt is an honor. Like, to have that. There's a responsibility that comes with that. There's things that you can do with that. Like, it's not just about. You realize the responsibility that you have when you carry that title. And so there's just. I'm getting passionate about. Because there's just. I want to say so many things, but I'm not going to.

[Joe Rogan]

I know what you're saying. I feel you. I feel like there's a couple guys kind of changed the game. One of them was Chael Son, and another One is Conor McGregor.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

And part of the way they changed the game was talking mad and getting a lot of people to pay attention to them.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. Which. Cool. You know, like, it got them a lot of attention. It got them a lot of money. But, like. And if that's what makes Them happy. Cool.

[Joe Rogan]

You know, I think some people think it's a good business decision.

[Khalil Rountree]

Like I said, I know nothing about business. Maybe that's why I don't own a business. You know? Like, I just. I don't know.

[Joe Rogan]

It's good that you don't own a business.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

You don't want to own a business while you're in the middle of this journey that you're on. It's just like you. It wouldn't. It would just drain you. It would take time from you. It's not. You can only do so many things in this life, and especially when you're doing something that's all encompassing physically.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

It's not like, you know, you have. You have a business and you have a side business project that's a passion project that you're working on. No, no, no. You're fighting.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Fighting. You have to be all in.

[Khalil Rountree]

And you really. You really do.

[Joe Rogan]

You are all in.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah. And while you're all in, look, I admire people that don't talk shit, but I also like a little shit talking. I do.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Because it's. It's fun. It's. And it gets people excited, and it does get a lot of eyes on the sport and it makes for more pay per view buys.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Which is why I think the cup, you know, the ufc encourages it. Whether they encourage it or not, they use those things, you know, like when Conor fought Khabib, they. They threw in the video of Conor throwing the. The dolly at the bus. Remember that? Which is crazy. Like, it's kind of almost encouraging that kind of behavior, which is crazy.

[Khalil Rountree]

No, it's. I mean, like, ufc, as real as it gets. Right. So you kind of get everything. Like, you get everything.

[Joe Rogan]

They don't say it anymore, though, do they?

[Khalil Rountree]

Odd.

[Joe Rogan]

As real as it gets.

[Khalil Rountree]

I don't think that's a part of some. Sometimes, like, early days, it's. It's stuck in my brain. But, yeah, there are different things. There are a lot of different, I guess, characters, personalities, you know? Yeah. Connor throwing the thing through, you know, the. The dolly through the window. Is it going to make people watch the fight? Absolutely. You know what I mean? Did he do it for that reason? Don't think so. I just think he is who he is. Right. It's like we never know what's next with. With Connor and respect, you know, respect to him for everything. But I just. Yeah, I. I understand your perspective as well. Like, little talk, you know. Yeah. It's entertaining. You know, you see two guys like oh, yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

But I completely appreciate your perspective as well. And I certainly appreciate your perspective having grown up through all that stuff. Like, why include it? Especially when what you're doing is the ultimate test of who you are as a human? Like, what was the ultimate test of who you are as a man? The. The actual fight itself, which is going to happen no matter how much you talk.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. And whoever. Like, whoever talks to me, you know, from. Not even from now on, but, like, whoever talks to me, like, I back it up. You know what I mean? Like, I don't need to say anything in return. Like, I'm just going to back it up. I'm not. I don't want to give anybody any more attention or, you know, say people's names and stuff.

[Joe Rogan]

But, like, Conor and Khabib is the ultimate example of that, right?

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

When Khabib was on top, almost like, let's talk now. And he kept punching him in the face. Let's talk now.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. I mean, I love Khabib for that. Like, I, I. You know, a lot of people, I. I can relate to that, you know, Like, I can relate to that. To that feeling of. Of how good that guy. Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

He had this really amazing conversation. Someone was interviewing him, and they were talking about different addictions that fighters fall to and different things that. That sidetrack people. And he's like, the best addiction is discipline. And he was talking about his discipline. The best. The best addiction is discipline. You got to become addicted to discipline. Addicted to hard training, Addicted, completely addicted to that.

[Khalil Rountree]

That makes me feel like a scrub.

[Joe Rogan]

I mean, like, I'm good. He was man.

[Khalil Rountree]

I'm disciplined, but, like, damn addicted to it.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah. I mean, when he talks. See if you can find that, Jamie. You got it? Here. Here it is. Listen to this.

[Khalil Rountree]

Every man addicted to something. Some smoke, some drink, some chase girls, some waste time. But real man, he addicted to discipline, to early wakes, to prayer, to training, to silence. Discipline, no need motivation, Discipline. Move without feeling. Discipline. Say I go anyway. Even when tired, even when lonely. Discipline is best. Addiction. You want strong life, discipline, build it. You want peace, discipline protected. You want respect, discipline, earnest. No shortcut, only work. Be men with control, not men with excuse. No cry, no blame. You want better life, start with better habits. Discipline every day until discipline become you.

[Joe Rogan]

I'm gonna use that as my morning wake up.

[Khalil Rountree]

Now, do you know that that's what I was just thinking in my mind? I'm like, dude, where do I include this in my daily routine? Like, right when you wake up, wake up.

[Joe Rogan]

That should be your alarm.

[Khalil Rountree]

Or is it, like, you know, do I just sit and, like, listen to this before I fall asleep with you?

[Joe Rogan]

Why sleep? Run, run.

[Khalil Rountree]

Dreams of Khabib Just standing. No, you're not real, man.

[Joe Rogan]

It's interesting because Chael Sonnen had a video recently.

[Khalil Rountree]

Incredible, man. Shout out to Khabib for that.

[Joe Rogan]

Shout out to Khabib. I mean, that's why he is who he is. Chael son and I had a really interesting video the other day. We was talking about how people say that Dagestan is the place where you should take your kids. You know, you want to take. You know, take them Dagestan 2, 3 years and forget it. There's, like, a fun line that, like, Cormier has said he's taking his son to Dagestan, you know, and that's one of the things that Bilal Muhammad said. If I could do my career over again, I would have went to Dagestan earlier.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

And I would have stayed there for years. And then Chael Sonnen had a very interesting point, which I think he's totally accurate. And he's like, they're not doing anything any different. He goes, but they don't have football. They don't have basketball, they don't have baseball. So the best athletes go into mma. The best athletes go into wrestling. The best athletes go into combat sports in Dagestan. And so he's like, what you get is you have genetics, which is an ultimate requirement of the elite of the elite at the top of the game. It's like discipline and genetics. Those are the two things that separate the men from the boys. And that. He's like, we have all those things in America. It's just when you're. You're dealing with the elite of the elite, it's like, what pool are you drawing from? One thing that I think they do have there, though, is this. This. The. The fact that they're all very religious and the fact that there's no drinking, there's no partying, there's no nothing. There's no chasing girls. There's no bullshit.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Is just prayer and training. Like, that is a. That's a. That's a major advantage. But you could do that anywhere. Yeah, you could do. Anyone could live that way.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, anyone can live that way. I'd imagine that, like, being in Dagestan because of, you know, just, like, the cultural differences, not to say that it would be easier, but you're dealing with less. Right. Like, you can do it here, but, like, you're you go outside, you're going to find a bar, you're going to find something.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah.

[Khalil Rountree]

Like, you know, like. Like the. The.

[Joe Rogan]

You know, but you have to make conscious decisions not to have that in your life.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. Which, like, doing it here would probably actually make you stronger.

[Joe Rogan]

Right. Because you have to deal with more resistance.

[Khalil Rountree]

Because you have to deal with more resistance.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah.

[Khalil Rountree]

You know what I mean? Yeah. Like, if you go out away where there's nothing, like, yeah, cool. But then come back to the real world and try to do it, and then it's gonna be like.

[Joe Rogan]

Right. But isn't that why most. I mean, from the beginning of time, fighters would take their camps away from life.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Like Marvin Hagler, he would. He would go to the Cape. He would go to Cape Cod and train in the winter, Cash's Clay and Muhammad Ali, you know, they would go up into the mountains. You know, there's definitely the Catskills.

[Khalil Rountree]

There's something different about it. Right. Like, there's something big.

[Joe Rogan]

Everybody goes to Big Bear and trains up there.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. When. When I fought Alex, I was in Salt Lake or I was in. What's the mountain up there? What's the.

[Joe Rogan]

In Utah.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Wasatch.

[Khalil Rountree]

No, above Salt Lake. Everybody goes skiing up there. Damn it. What's it called? Dude, why can't. Why am I. No.

[Joe Rogan]

Park City.

[Khalil Rountree]

Park City. Oh, okay. I was out in Park City for like, two or three weeks before.

[Joe Rogan]

Distractions in park, son.

[Khalil Rountree]

But not where we were. No, no. Like. Like, the. The cabin that I rented out there was, like, nice. There was nothing there.

[Joe Rogan]

So how much time did you spend up there?

[Khalil Rountree]

Like, 17 days, 18 days, something like that. So, like, the tail end of the camp, we were just, like, up there.

[Joe Rogan]

Did you have to acclimate to the.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, to the. To the altitude.

[Joe Rogan]

How much time does that usually take? Because that doesn't seem like enough. 17 days doesn't seem like enough. We.

[Khalil Rountree]

I don't remember exactly how much time, but we. For two weeks before that, we're regularly going up to Mount Charleston and to Running other mountains and stuff. Like, outside of Vegas.

[Joe Rogan]

Right. Because there is quite a bit of elevation outside of Vegas, and I think Vegas itself is five. I think it's. No, I think it's 2,000ft above sea level. What is.

[Khalil Rountree]

Something like that?

[Joe Rogan]

What's Vegas above sea level? Yeah, so there's. Vegas is 2000ft above sea level.

[Khalil Rountree]

There's a road right up by where we train. Like, it's called Mount Potosi. And that's like seven. No, 6,000. Something like that. So it's like. And it's. It's very short. Like, very short distance drive.

[Joe Rogan]

And you go, train up there.

[Khalil Rountree]

We just drive there, and then we'd just run out there, train out there, come back down, home.

[Joe Rogan]

One of the things that I've heard, there's different philosophies on how to handle training in altitude, but one of the things that I've heard is what you should do is you should train at sea level and then sleep and live at a high altitude. So that way you get more output at sea level because you're getting more oxygen so you can put in more work. And then when you're at the higher altitude, your body is adapting and developing more red blood cells and. And all that stuff, and more adaptation for oxygen.

[Khalil Rountree]

Makes sense. I've heard that as well. I just haven't tried it.

[Joe Rogan]

That makes sense to me, because it's just that. The idea. But then it's like, there's a mental benefit of being able to put in the work at a higher altitude, you know, and then knowing that, like, say if you train, like. I. I lived for a while outside of Boulder. I lived at this place that was 8, 500ft above sea level.

[Khalil Rountree]

Oh, my God.

[Joe Rogan]

It was. It was. Working out there was rough.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

It was crazy that when I would go to Boulder to train, I would go to a mall, Eason's Jiu Jitsu gym. It felt easier because it was only 5,000ft, because that's like boulders. Like, 5,000 something. And then one time we had to go to Philadelphia for, like, a UFC event, and I was working out in Philadelphia, and I felt like a juggernaut.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

I was like, I have so much energy. This is crazy. It's because I was at sea level.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

And I'm not used to being at sea level. So when I was working out, I felt so good. I was like, oh, my God, so much fucking energy. It's because I'm used to being oxygen deprived.

[Khalil Rountree]

Have you. Have you seen that thing they have at the PI, that ozone machine?

[Joe Rogan]

No. What is it? The one that takes your blood and recycles?

[Khalil Rountree]

No, that's like. It's a altitude simulator. So I want to do it, but they're like, you got to commit to, like, a couple months of training to see, like, the real benefit of this.

[Joe Rogan]

Oh. So you have to be there for a few months.

[Khalil Rountree]

You have to, like.

[Joe Rogan]

Do you utilize that place? Because you are a Vegas guy.

[Khalil Rountree]

I love, like, they have, you know, amazing physical therapists.

[Joe Rogan]

Nutrition.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, nutrition. It's very convenient, you know, especially, like, living there. I just try to stay. I don't try to get too involved because every fighter can go, and it's just like you kind of run into other camps and blah, blah, blah. You know what I mean?

[Joe Rogan]

Talking there.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, a lot of talk or just.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah, Energy.

[Khalil Rountree]

Energy. And everybody.

[Joe Rogan]

John Wood has such a great gym, too.

[Khalil Rountree]

Oh, yeah, Syndicate is.

[Joe Rogan]

Syndicate's so good. John's such a great guy. Yeah, man, great vibe.

[Khalil Rountree]

So happy for. For everything right now with just, like, Merab and. Oh, yeah, him and I. And what?

[Joe Rogan]

I love the fact that Merab even, you know, like, he's still tight with his old crew. You know what I mean? It's like. And the same thing. Even when AJ was training down there, they're still tight with Ray Longo and Matt Serra and all those guys that got him to the dance. And then you see those guys also in his corner. It's a very collaborative thing where there's no. The egos don't get in the way.

[Khalil Rountree]

No, that's huge. Such a cool thing to respect.

[Joe Rogan]

So cool.

[Khalil Rountree]

Like, everybody around him training partners, too. Like, he just.

[Joe Rogan]

It's all top guys. He just dropped it down.

[Khalil Rountree]

A bunch of Georgian guys in it.

[Joe Rogan]

It's like, yeah, if the guys at the top have a great vibe. Vibe, and they're all, like, collaborative and work together, you know. Really, you feel that vibe in the gym.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, it spreads. His energy is definitely, like, infectious. And one thing that's cool, too, is, like, the way that John's organized training in syndicate now when. When people have fights coming up and, like, you're doing your live cage rounds and the whole gym's watching, you know what I mean? Like, yeah, everybody's around the cage. You know what I mean? And so you get used to that. It's so cool. It's so cool.

[Joe Rogan]

And what is it like having a Rob in training there? Is there a fucking guy that has a better gas tank than that motherfucker?

[Khalil Rountree]

I haven't seen him. Dude, my week, the fight week, actually, I had just. The day of my fight, okay, Day of my fight, woke up called John. Like, hey, man, want to get a shakeout? Just, like, shake out some nerves, like, you know, just hit some pads. He's like, okay, cool. I'm down in the. In the ballroom with. With Merab. He's like, but you gotta wait a few minutes. Like, he's going some rounds. I'm like, rounds? And he's like, yeah, you just got. You got to come down here and See it. So I'm like, I go downstairs in the elevator. We can get to the room. Merab is doing live rounds on carpet. Hard floor in a ballroom with some guy. And they're. They're sparring rounds, bro. The day of the fight, of my fight. So he didn't have a fight. But this was a week after his. His second fight against o'. Malley. So they're doing live rounds on the carpet, shin guards, everything but, like, takedowns. Jesus.

[Joe Rogan]

Jesus Christ.

[Khalil Rountree]

On hard floor and carpet. And he just doesn't stop. It's like, like training never ends.

[Joe Rogan]

That's how you get staff. That's probably why you got stuff.

[Khalil Rountree]

Who knows, you know? But you. Like, like, they're just, just no one can stop the guy. Like, he's just a big ball of energy. He really is. Like, whether it's running up and down mountains and all this stuff, like, John Wood actually has to have some type of like, monitor on this guy. He's like, remember, don't train today. Okay, coach. Okay, coach. Next thing you know, he's on social media, like out in the mountains, you know, or in some river. Like, it just. He's. Yeah. Having him. Having him around is crazy.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah. DC went to visit him the day after the o' Malley fight. The first fight. And he went to his house and he was running.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

The day after he won the world title.

[Khalil Rountree]

Isn't.

[Joe Rogan]

And DC goes to his house and he's like, look at my Rob's home gym. He goes, you know where this motherfucker is? He's out running. He's out running.

[Khalil Rountree]

The discipline. Oh, yeah. That's it about.

[Joe Rogan]

It's discipline.

[Khalil Rountree]

He's addicted to discipline.

[Joe Rogan]

It never ends.

[Khalil Rountree]

That's it. Like, I think he's just one of those guys.

[Joe Rogan]

I mean, there. I just. There's a lot of people that are analyzing it. They're like, it has to be genetic. Does it. Does it. Like, is his head. Is his head bigger? Is his chest bigger? Like, what's bigger? It's all the same. He's a normal sized guy.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

There's nothing. There's nothing extraordinary about his physicality other than the fact that he's very strong.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Which is. There's a lot of strong guys, but it's not. It's the accumulation of time spent on the path. And he has not deviated.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. At all. And I don't think he's anywhere close to.

[Joe Rogan]

He's not even in his prime. No, I mean, I mean, he's in his prime, clearly. But I Don't think he's reached his full potential, because I think he was even better in the second o' Malley fight than he was the first fight. And I think o' Malley was considerably better.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

But Merab's that much better now. And, you know, this thing that happens, and hopefully you'll get to experience this, when you win a title, you get better. There's like D.C. says, it's like 10%. It's like there's something that happens. Some people say 30%, but there's something that happens to you where you realize, like, I am the best in the world. And you take that into your heart, in your mind, and then you carry that. Like, now you have that title. You see it, it's sitting there on your table, or you have it on your wall, whatever, wherever you put your belt, and you're like, I am the man now, and now I will live this way. And then you see them going into the fight. You know who you see that with? Pantosia.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

That dude does not get the love that he deserves. When that guy gets into the octagon, it's. It's like a leopard just entered the room. Yeah, it's wild, man. It's wild. Like, he's got this feeling about him that, you know, champions have when. When they're just feeling it, you know, when that guy steps into the octagon, you see him across the ring from whoever the he's fighting, it's like. That's a. That's a cat, man.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

You know what I mean?

[Khalil Rountree]

Honestly? Yeah, like a. Yeah, yeah, like a jaguar or something. Jaguar mountain. Yeah, it's something killer.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah, just some elite killer.

[Khalil Rountree]

You can kind of sense that, like, a little instinct in it, like.

[Joe Rogan]

Oh, 100, man, 100 in it.

[Khalil Rountree]

Like, he's for sure. And he's locked in.

[Joe Rogan]

I mean, and you see the. Like, I think the perfect fight for him was seeing Kaikara France. They fought in the Ultimate Fighter and it was a good fight. And then you see this new fight where as he's the champion, Kaikara France is the contender. Yeah, he fucking ran through him, man. Like, you see is a different human being. Yeah, he's a champion now. And where does he trade? He's att.

[Khalil Rountree]

Att? Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

I mean, I don't know if he spends his. All of his time down there. I don't know if he's there all the time or if he just goes there for camp. I don't know if he. How he does it.

[Khalil Rountree]

Okay.

[Joe Rogan]

I'm not sure if He's a Florida resident. Or if he lives in Brazil and just goes there for camps. Yeah, I'm not sure.

[Khalil Rountree]

Nah. But, yeah, whatever. I mean, whatever he's doing is definitely.

[Joe Rogan]

The thing about being the flyweight champ, where if that was the middleweight champ, he'd be a superstar. And that, to me, that drives me nuts, because it's like, you just. I like martial arts. I like someone who represents the best of martial arts. Like, and in my mind, like, that guy's as good as anybody alive. Like, when. When he's running over every contender and choking them out or knocking them out or whatever the he's doing. Like, damn.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, it's tough, man. It's like, it's tough in this sport because of the way the weight classes, like, a lot of guys don't get.

[Joe Rogan]

What's crazy is 35 gets so much love.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

This is 10 pounds difference.

[Khalil Rountree]

10 pounds difference.

[Joe Rogan]

Isn't that nuts? Yeah, that's kind of nuts.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Because when you see Pantoja next to those guys, there's not much difference in size. It's kind of the same.

[Khalil Rountree]

That's why, like, I forgot somebody not too long ago asked me, like, my. What would my MMA like Mount Rushmore be? And I remember saying, like, Anderson Silva, gsp, Demetrius Johnson, and Amanda Nunes. And they were like, demetrius Johnson. I'm like, oh, why would you even. Why would you even hesitate? Hesitate? Why. Why are you even asking me that question?

[Joe Rogan]

You know, if you weren't there during his prime, you had to see him during his prime, you know, when he.

[Khalil Rountree]

Was talking about martial arts and just.

[Joe Rogan]

Skill, angles, finesse, movement, speed and intelligence. Knowing exactly how to engage and his ability to transfer between grappling and striking seamlessly.

[Khalil Rountree]

Dude, seamlessly. Perfect word, seamlessly.

[Joe Rogan]

Like, oh, in his prime. In his prime, he was unstoppable.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, but imagine Demetrius Johnson at light heavyweight. Oh, my God. Statues of this man statue. You know what I mean?

[Joe Rogan]

Like, it'd be like the. The Rocky statue of Philadelphia.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. Who knows where it would be? There'd probably be multiple statues of this man all over the place. What a great guy, too.

[Joe Rogan]

Oh, he's the best.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

And just again, is underappreciated for whatever reason, you know? And during his reign, it just. Like, his pay per view numbers were not what they should have been. Yeah, but it's because he's small. That's all it is. It's like the casuals, they don't, like, who gives a shit how big he is compared to you? Just look at how he's the same size as the guy's fighting, and look what he can do to that guy.

[Khalil Rountree]

We need to just. We need to have. This is a joke. This isn't serious. This is a joke. But like, smaller weight classes in a smaller cage. Well, it will make them look bigger on television, and people will get what they. You know, they don't care.

[Joe Rogan]

People don't. It's interesting because boxing has the same thing, you know, I mean, when you get into the heavier weight. Look, look. Usyk made somewhere in the neighborhood of $132 million for that fight. That sounds amazing, doesn't it? Yeah, I know. It was. Me and Volkanovsky and Izzy were backstage at the ufc. We're at the weigh ins, and I pulled up the numbers. I go, have you seen the numbers? There's a video of it on Stylebender's website or his YouTube page. And I go, like, check this out. Because I had saved on my phone in case I ran into any fighters. I'm like, look at this. Look how crazy this is. And Dubois made like 71 or 72 million, and Usyk made like 132.

[Khalil Rountree]

I mean, like, if I made that type of money, I wouldn't have to. I wouldn't be looking to, like, leave to live.

[Joe Rogan]

But what. What has to change for that to happen? I mean, does this. Do the Saudis have to buy the ufc?

[Khalil Rountree]

I don't know, because I don't understand.

[Joe Rogan]

That's kind of what they're doing with boxing. They're kind of buying boxing.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. I don't know, man. I don't know. Like, I don't know what needs to change. But, I mean, all I'm saying is, like, it would be really cool. That's like a dream, like, to be able to make those kind of numbers.

[Joe Rogan]

I would really love that for fighters. I mean, I love when I hear fighters are making millions. It's great. It's great because I remember the early days of the ufc where people make pennies.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

When there was no money to be made. I mean, I started working for them in 1997. The previous owners, you know, when it was before Zufa and nobody was making any money, there was no money in mma. You know, it's like everybody was scratching and clawing, and they were just doing it out of the love of the game.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Or because they, you know, had a career in wrestling. And then that wrestling, amateur wrestling career was over. And they're like, all right, I'm gonna be a fighter.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. The money was in Japan.

[Joe Rogan]

Now there was money in Japan.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

But even the money in Japan was not boxing money.

[Khalil Rountree]

No. No. 10 grand.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah. You know, I'm sure they paid him well, and at the time, it was a lot. But, I mean, like, Fedor's still fighting. Is he fighting because he wants to, or is he fighting because he has to? You know? Which is crazy.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

If one of the greatest of all time is fighting because he has to, it's not like Fedor is, like, living the craziest, flashiest lifestyle with, like, diamond. Like, Floyd Mayweather. Like, Floyd Mayweather went broke, he'd be like, look at his Instagram.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

How's he not gonna go broke?

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Meanwhile, he's not. Meanwhile, he's still got tons of money.

[Khalil Rountree]

Money. Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

But, you know, Floyd made hundreds of millions of dollars. He probably made more money than any boxer that's ever lived.

[Khalil Rountree]

Oh, man. I. Yeah, it's a dream. Yeah, it's. It's a dream. It'd be nice, but I'm not, like, I'm glad that it's improving.

[Joe Rogan]

It's improving.

[Khalil Rountree]

It's improving.

[Joe Rogan]

It's definitely improving. It's definitely. It's like, you know, fighters can get rich now.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

You know.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. We can actually plan retirement. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, that, that, that. For now, like, I'm saying that, like, I'm grateful.

[Joe Rogan]

And one of the things that I really like about the ufc, too, is they give fighters a chance to have a career outside of that. You know, like, Paul Felder and DC do commentary, Chael Sonnen does his stuff.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

All those guys in the desk, Alan, Joe Band, they all do their stuff. Like, Rashad does his stuff. It's nice. It's like, there's. There's an opportunity to work outside of having to fight.

[Khalil Rountree]

You asked me, you know, like, before, like, oh, you know, what would you do? Or, like, have I thought about anything? I honestly, I would love to work with the ufc. Not as a commentator, because I don't really see myself, like, commentating or, like, being, you know, someone speaking, but I'd love to work for the ufc.

[Joe Rogan]

Why wouldn't you want to commentate or speak?

[Khalil Rountree]

I don't know. I. I personally, I think I've mentioned this to you before. Like, I just don't know if I have. Have so much, like, input, you know, when it comes to, like, other fighters, skill or whatever. Like, I'm not the most exciting person on a microphone, you know, like. But maybe you guys do well. Oh. Like, you know, you guys have Great reactions. I'm kind of more like, interesting. Like the old grandpa, you know?

[Joe Rogan]

Right, right, right, right.

[Khalil Rountree]

Rubbing my chin, like.

[Joe Rogan]

But maybe not as a commentator, then maybe as someone on the desk analyzing things. Because you definitely have a very unique viewpoint.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. Viewpoint. I mean, that. That could work, but I think something like. I'd. I don't know. I'd rather be, like, I guess, behind. Behind the. Like, on the other side of the camera.

[Joe Rogan]

What would you want to be doing?

[Khalil Rountree]

I don't know. Something within the bit they do that. Like, the UFC is such a large company. There's so many departments I am friends with. I try to make friends with everybody in every department because they're just great people that make. Make that. Make this all happen. The equipment team, you know, Ember, Stephanie. Like, I've been testing the gloves for the UFC for the past year, making sure we get the right ones. You know, what is going on with the gloves?

[Joe Rogan]

Because you and Alex fought with the old. The new.

[Khalil Rountree]

The new, old gloves.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah, because they got rid of them.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

They spent, like, a year developing them.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. And so I was a part of that entire process.

[Joe Rogan]

What happened? What was wrong with those gloves?

[Khalil Rountree]

The main thing was that, like, because of the leather, the. The logos weren't sticking, so the logos were peeling off. Peeling off, peeling off.

[Joe Rogan]

That's it.

[Khalil Rountree]

And we tried, Joe, I'm telling you, we tried hundreds of different ways to get the UFC logo printed on the gloves so that they will not come off in the octagon from me, testing it on the canvas, doing live situations, sparring, rubbing into the cage, blah, blah. And I don't get it. It just.

[Joe Rogan]

Why does the old leather work better?

[Khalil Rountree]

Because with everything in the world, but especially, like, in the. In the industry of like, like, leather and suede and all that stuff, like, you can't. If I had a pair of leather shoes from 1970, it's going to be different than a leather that's made today. You get what I mean? Like, it just. It changed.

[Joe Rogan]

Both of them are made today, the old gloves and the new old gloves.

[Khalil Rountree]

It's a different type of leather, so.

[Joe Rogan]

It'S a softer leather.

[Khalil Rountree]

It's just. It's. It's just not the same. Like, it's. It's. It's a little. It was a little softer, but it's. It's. It's treated differently. To be able to, you know, to. To before, like, while it's being processed or whatever. That whole, like, process looks like it's just. There's some type of, you Know, chemical or something. That's just different, because what I had.

[Joe Rogan]

Heard was that there was less knockouts with the new, old gloves, the gloves that they developed and then they abandoned recently.

[Khalil Rountree]

Because I'm just hearing straight from what, you know, the equipment team's being yelled at.

[Joe Rogan]

The equipment team is saying that's the issue, is that this leather has nothing.

[Khalil Rountree]

To do with their lock, the knockouts. It's that every time when the fighters come to return a pair of gloves or whatever, or even in the fight, these. It's peeling off or chipping off, and that's. That's a hazard if it gets in your eye. Right. You know what I mean? It's more about, like, the safety of the fighter, not like, we need more knockouts, change of gloves.

[Joe Rogan]

Interesting, because it did. The knockout. The knockout thing didn't make any.

[Khalil Rountree]

No, no, no. It has nothing to do with the knockouts. It's more that the logo wasn't adhering, and it doesn't look professional to have these guys fighting a championship fight. And then here's this guy raising his hand. You don't even know. There's no UFC logo on the glove. Like, what.

[Joe Rogan]

It all gets worn off.

[Khalil Rountree]

It all gets worn off. So we. We've tried so many different marker that wouldn't work. Who can't sell a glove with magic marker on it? Yeah, but we have to make an official glove, you know, like.

[Joe Rogan]

But the training gloves, you know, just have UFC somewhere else.

[Khalil Rountree]

The training gloves. What about the people who want to buy an official UFC glove?

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah. What are they doing with them? If they're going to work out with.

[Khalil Rountree]

Them, still got to be. Be official.

[Joe Rogan]

I get it. You know, the best gloves are Trevor Whitman's.

[Khalil Rountree]

He makes the best onyx.

[Joe Rogan]

The best MMA gloves. They're the best. And the UFC was trying to get those for some. I don't. I don't want to speak out of line here or out of turn. I don't know exactly what went on, but apparently Trevor wanted more money than they were willing to give him. But he makes the absolute best MMA gloves. They're the best. That's a good glove. They turn over like this.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Where it's not like this. So you don't like the thing that people. The problem with the old gloves that are now the gloves that everybody uses is that everybody says that they kind of force your hand into an open position, and you have to tighten up to make them close. Do you feel that?

[Khalil Rountree]

I agree with that, but I've. I have found the solution to that.

[Joe Rogan]

What's the solution?

[Khalil Rountree]

Just size up.

[Joe Rogan]

Up. Oh, one size up?

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. They all weigh the same.

[Joe Rogan]

Interesting.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

What size do you use?

[Khalil Rountree]

This last fight, I use the double X.

[Joe Rogan]

And you usually use an X?

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Interesting.

[Khalil Rountree]

And I think it's like, you know, a lot of fighters, we don't like to stray from what we do. You know what I mean? Every little thing can with us. You know, some fighters, maybe I shouldn't.

[Joe Rogan]

Have gone to xxl.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. Yeah. That's why I did not knock them out. You know what I mean? But, yeah, if, like. If you're like you. You just have to think it's like, okay, the glove weighs the same. Whether it's an XL or an extra small, it weighs the same.

[Joe Rogan]

How do they manage that?

[Khalil Rountree]

I don't know, but it weighs the same.

[Joe Rogan]

That sounds suspicious. I want to get a scale out.

[Khalil Rountree]

Next time.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah, but that doesn't make any sense to me.

[Khalil Rountree]

But we're all fighting, and, you know.

[Joe Rogan]

Unless they make it with thinner paths.

[Khalil Rountree]

I don't.

[Joe Rogan]

Would have to be.

[Khalil Rountree]

Maybe it would have to be. Oh, yeah. Because then your hand can't fit in the. Yeah, yeah. Like, if I tried to get into an extra small, it would work. So. Yeah. But like, let's say the size between an XL and a double X, they weigh the same.

[Joe Rogan]

Okay.

[Khalil Rountree]

And I have to consider. Okay. I'm getting my hands wrapped as well.

[Joe Rogan]

Right.

[Khalil Rountree]

So, yes, this XL glove fits like a glove, but what about when I wrap my hands? Right now I wrap my hands, it's a squee. And then now my hands are like.

[Joe Rogan]

This, and I'm, like, cutting off your circulation almost.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. So the idea is size up. Even if it's two sizes up, you're not gonna have an issue, you know, or you go with a thinner wrap or no wrap. You have that option.

[Joe Rogan]

Well, Joe Pifer fights with no wrap.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Which is crazy.

[Khalil Rountree]

I think it's savage. I kind of want to do it.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. I would have fought with no rap with the other glove, the new glove.

[Joe Rogan]

The new old glove, then the new one that they abandoned.

[Khalil Rountree]

The old new glove. Yeah. Yeah. I would have fought those. Felt so much better to me. With no rap, man.

[Joe Rogan]

If I was the ufc, and clearly I'm not a good businessman, but if I was, I would say, listen, how about you sell us the gloves? We'll promote your gloves. You sell them on your website. We don't make any profit off of it. Just give us your gloves to use for the fights, and we'll. We'll blow your business up. That's what I would do. I would say, look, you want a lot of money for your gloves, Good. Sell them. Everybody should buy them anyway. He makes the best bag gloves, best sparring gloves. Trevor's a fucking wizard, man.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. That's what I've gathered from just, like.

[Joe Rogan]

Very interesting guy, very smart guy, great trainer, just a great person. But his gloves, his MMA gloves, you put them on, you're like, oh, why aren't they all like this?

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

The padding is a much more sophisticated. Yeah.

[Khalil Rountree]

And the boxing. I remember, I think one time he sent me a pair of boxing gloves. Like, this was a couple years ago. And I saw it, like, it came with this paper, and you're supposed to put a blow dryer in it first, and you turn the blow dryer on to warm up the padding in there, and specifically, like, for that. And then once it's heated up, then you put the glove on and you wrap it up, and then you let the padding cool down, and then it molds to your hand. I don't know if people remember that about the glove, but that's. I didn't know that's the. That's how you should wear those gloves.

[Joe Rogan]

Oh, that's interesting. I didn't know that that makes sense.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

But he told. He was explaining to me the different kinds of foam that you can buy and that people buy cheap foam, and it's not. It's not as, like, high density. It's not as good. Doesn't protect you as well. And his is, like, the most expensive, but the best. But when his gloves. The design of his gloves, your hands are curled like this. So it's an effort to do that. But I don't know, man. I feel like we're stagnant in innovation with glove development in the first place, because I don't think this is necessary.

[Khalil Rountree]

No. I train with the old, like, Ali mittens.

[Joe Rogan]

Okay.

[Khalil Rountree]

Those are my favorite gloves in the world to do MMA with. Put a wrap on under it, you know, for. For padding or a pad, whatever. And I can still grapple with it. My fingers are just like this, of course, which is.

[Joe Rogan]

But this. This is how you grapple anyway.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, exactly.

[Joe Rogan]

You never do this.

[Khalil Rountree]

No.

[Joe Rogan]

Never interlace your fingers. So why are the fingers even exposed? Because high pokes are a giant issue.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

And if. Let's say you could just eliminate finger pokes and all you have is thumb poke, you would take away 80, 90% of all eye pokes.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

And it would be obvious if someone did it on purpose.

[Khalil Rountree]

Then Derek Lewis would be, how about that interview? I'll poke him in the eye, kick him in the nut.

[Joe Rogan]

He's so crazy. He was telling the truth about, like, hitting someone in the nuts because he was tired.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. He's like, I was tired, I needed five more minutes or some shit. He's like, I'll poke him in the eye. I cheat. He was just like, I cheat. I was like, dude, this. What the hell? But he's also crazy enough to say that. That he's like, oh, yeah, the. The UFC is. Is scripted.

[Joe Rogan]

Oh, yeah. That was ridiculous.

[Khalil Rountree]

Like, dude, anybody. I was like, I know you're joking.

[Joe Rogan]

But, like, the problem is that gets on the Internet.

[Khalil Rountree]

There's so many people that now believe you. Yeah, like, there's so many people that believe you now. Like, that's a funny joke, but damn it, dude, bro, there's no script.

[Joe Rogan]

There's when. When you see the way he knocked out Curtis Blades. There's no script for that, bro.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, you can't. That's just.

[Joe Rogan]

Derek has got some phenomenal God given power.

[Khalil Rountree]

He cannot script what we do.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah, no, of course you can't script it. It's super obvious to anybody that watches that that's the dumbest ever casual fan. Like, comments.

[Khalil Rountree]

It's a scripted fake. He was supposed to.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah, like, stop, stop. Shut up.

[Khalil Rountree]

And then you have Dana White made him win that fight.

[Joe Rogan]

Oh, it's so crazy to say. But that said, like, here's the thing. You know, Aspinall is going to fight Cyril Gone. Yeah, I might. If I was running things, I might set up the Derrick Lewis fight with Aspinall. I might say, forget Zero. Gone for now. Like, Derek just has this big knockout win. Who's more popular than Derek? Who's. Who's more beloved by fans than Derek.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, I mean, that would be a great fight to set up. Absolutely. But I think that from, I guess a business standpoint, it makes sense to use Cyril because of everything that he's doing in France.

[Joe Rogan]

Okay, yeah, that makes sense, right?

[Khalil Rountree]

Movie star, you know what I mean? He's got the entire country behind him now. So, like. Yeah, with the inner. With the ufc, you know, expanding internationally, it's like, you know, Aspinall is a, you know, British icon, Cyril's a French icon.

[Joe Rogan]

The whole Aspinall, John Jones thing is so crazy. The whole thing is so crazy.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, absolutely. John doesn't seem to.

[Joe Rogan]

John marches to the beat of his own drummer, son.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, Yeah. I mean, like, he's. He's Dead set. And what he wants and how he views it.

[Joe Rogan]

And so, like, now he wants to fight for the title at the White House. And Dana Dan is like, nope, I can't trust John.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

To not something up.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Which is wild.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

But also, what are you gonna say when John just recently got in more trouble?

[Khalil Rountree]

I mean, it's. It's. It's tough. I mean, for Dana, you know, in his position.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah.

[Khalil Rountree]

It's too risky.

[Joe Rogan]

It is.

[Khalil Rountree]

It's very risky. Like.

[Joe Rogan]

Oh, yeah.

[Khalil Rountree]

And it sucks because it's like, man, you've got so much talent and the most talent and such an incredible resume.

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah.

[Khalil Rountree]

And now I. There's nothing that I can really do about it.

[Joe Rogan]

The story is old as time, though, isn't it?

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

The story as old as time. Well, that's one of the things I appreciate about you. Like, you're a very different kind of dude, you know, who's in the same business.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

Same wild ass, chaotic business. But you choose to put your sights on a different prize. Like, you're. You're about growth.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

You know, you're about your own mind and conquering these challenges. And this is what it's about for you.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. I'm. I'm grateful and blessed to be in the position that I'm in. And, like, I don't want to. I don't want to waste anything. You know what I mean? Like, I don't want to waste it. I want to be able to look back when I'm older and. And know that I used my time, you know, and in a. In a good way, that I continue to grow and to learn and develop until it's over, you know?

[Joe Rogan]

Like, I think John does that too. But also, he just loves to party. He just. He gets crazy. He just loves to get crazy.

[Khalil Rountree]

And I think that, like, we've seen that so many times. Like, there's. We've seen so many athletes and celebrities fall victim to fame and partying and what that comes with.

[Joe Rogan]

We're watching it with Conor, and we've.

[Khalil Rountree]

Seen the same people who are addicted to discipline. Who do you admire and what they.

[Joe Rogan]

Who do you. Who are you going to listen to first thing in the morning? You listen to Khabib.

[Khalil Rountree]

Khabib?

[Joe Rogan]

Yeah.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. I mean, it's like, if there was anybody as a. As a combat sports, you know, practitioner and fighter, if there's anybody who I would say, like, I'd want to be or, like, model myself after in my career, it'd be Muhammad Ali, just because of everything, you know? What I mean, like, humanitarian. Yeah. Like, he was beloved by people from all around the world, you know what I mean? Like, just different medals from United Nation and, like, you know what I mean?

[Joe Rogan]

Like, there's a cultural.

[Khalil Rountree]

Cultural figure, and like, not that, like, I'm not as outside outspoken as, you know, as he was, but for just, like, the things that he was also remembered for outside of the ring. I just look at that as, like, so admirable. And he gave young men like me something to kind of, like, aim at and like, model myself after, you know, like, that, to me, I feel like, is very important, especially in this country. And as a young man who maybe doesn't have a father figure or who doesn't know what to become, and then you read the story about Lee, and you're like, oh, that. That's similar to me. I can become something. I can be an Olympian. I can be a champion. Like, it just takes this. You know what I mean? Like. Like, I'm not different. I'm actually. There's actually people, like, like me out there, and I like, you know, it just gives you something to kind of hope to become. And so I try to. I. I try to just be authentically me so that whoever out there does connect with me can see that, you know? Yeah, you can go through certain. But, like, there's so much stuff that is possible for you, like, your life's not over. Yeah. You're in a bad position now, but you can get yourself out of it. There's tons of help out there. You know, mental health is a big thing. You know, it's not the end of the world, you know, and if you feel like it is, there's support, you know, and if you actually have a disorder, there's support for that, too. There's also outlets like martial arts and, you know, communities and things like that that will make you feel less alone in life. And, like, martial arts is a big one. Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

You know, that's a big one. And for people that feel outside. Yeah, go. Go to a martial arts studio, go to a gym, where there you're gonna find a whole lot of people just like you that are already on this path.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. And that are cool people to learn from. I mean, that's what changed. That's what I just put myself in a new environment. And then I started learning how to eat and how to think, you know what I mean? And started to get courage and carry myself differently, and weight started coming down and blah, blah, and then there you go, you know, my. My mental health Stuff was a lot less, you know, it's never gone away completely, you know, but it's a lot less than it was when I was 19 years old.

[Joe Rogan]

But I mean, does it ever go away completely?

[Khalil Rountree]

It's life, you know what I mean? Like, it's life. But we don't, a lot of people, we don't have the tools, you know, or we don't have the people to listen to or whatever, to be able to be like, okay, it's not just me, it's everyone, so what can I do to deal with this? You know what I mean? Yeah, Like, I, I, I, I think that, yeah, that's, that's kind of my, my thing. So I think about when I get on a microphone or when I go fight or whatever, like, there's a sense of responsibility. It's not just about me in this world, you know, like, and that, that's, it's, to be honest, it's a struggle. It's hard to not, it's hard to think that way. It's very easy to be selfish. It's very easy to just think, me, me, me, me, me, you know, my problems, my struggles, my this. But like, to, to consider millions of people and lives and children and youth and teenagers that are watching the sport and da, da. Like, I have to be conscious of, of the things that I do and how I live my life because I don't want to be the guy on the news, you know what I mean? Like, I just don't want to be like, I'm terrible. I'm terrified of prison, you know what I mean? I'm, you know, I'm trying to make friends with police officers, you know what I mean? Like, yeah, I'm like, I'm just like, I'm just like, okay, like, trying to do the right thing, not only for myself, but for my family, for my father, you know? So, like, there's just a lot of responsibility that comes with, with this game and how we live our lives, man.

[Joe Rogan]

Well, that's very admirable, and I'm glad there's people like you out there that do present a very positive role model, because I know for a lot of young people, they turn towards really successful people in sports and particularly fighters, especially if you are a martial artist yourself and you look at someone who carries themselves a certain way and you admire it and you want to be like that person. Like, I want, I aspire to be my own version of what that means to me, what this person means to me, what they represent to me, which is like, a championship mindset. Like, someone who's like, there's a lot of people with championship mindset that never become a champion, but they 100% inspire people to live better lives.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah. And that's the journey. That's the path that I'm on for the rest of my life.

[Joe Rogan]

Beautiful.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

This is the best way to end the podcast.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Joe Rogan]

Listen, brother, I appreciate you very much, and I wish you all the best of luck, and I'm really excited to see this fight with Yuri Prohazka.

[Khalil Rountree]

Thanks.

[Joe Rogan]

Should be a banger.

[Khalil Rountree]

Thanks for having me.

[Joe Rogan]

My pleasure. Congratulations on everything. I look forward to congratulating you again.

[Khalil Rountree]

Hell, yeah. All right.

[Joe Rogan]

All right.

[Khalil Rountree]

Bye, everybody. Later, Sa.