"It was just really hard for me to walk and even stand" - Khalil Rountree says he entered Jamahal Hill fight injured, couldn’t spar for weeks

Khalil Rountree Jr. returned to winning ways at UFC Baku this past weekend against former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill. 'The War Horse' dominated Hill for five rounds with composed and clinical striking, breaking 'Sweet Dreams' from the very first round with low leg strikes, dropping him several times, and in the end securing a unanimous decision win.

Rountree Jr. recently uploaded a video on his YouTube channel, in which he talked about the adversities he had to deal with before entering the octagon against Hill.

The former UFC title challenger had a torn meniscus, which he suffered during training. He had to make some sacrifices because of the injury, but it paid off as he was much more rested and fresh on fight night. Rountree Jr. said:

"About halfway through training camp, when I was training jiu-jitsu, was the first time I felt some discomfort in my knee, just from training with bigger guys and doing four sessions per day on top of like running and jiu-jitsu and pads. That's when I first started feeling the discomfort. It only grew from there until one day I woke up and it was just really hard for me to walk and even stand."

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Speaking about how not being able to train turned out to be a blessing in disguise, Rountree Jr. added:

"I got it checked out and ended up having a torn meniscus and once I found out what the injury was, it was only about three weeks from actual fight day. So it was obviously stressful... Initially, I was devastated and not able to train how I really wanted to but it was kind of a blessing in disguise because tonight I came into the cage really fresh because I haven't been able to spar in three weeks... last three weeks have just been recovery."

Check out Khalil Rountree Jr.'s comments below (0:04):

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Who does Khalil Rountree Jr. want to fight next?

Before UFC Baku, Khalil Rountree Jr. swore to put on a dominant performance against Jamahal Hill, to convince the matchmakers that he deserves another title shot.

During the UFC Baku octagon interview, 'The War Horse' told Michael Bisping that his sole goal is to become UFC champion, and thus, he is ready to take on anyone who would get him closer to the title. He is also open to fighting newly minted UFC light heavyweight kingpin Magomed Ankalaev.

Rountree Jr. said:

"I want to be a champion. So whatever is next... If I have to fight Magomed Ankalaev next, I would do it. If I have to fight somebody in between that I would do it. But whatever gets me closer to getting that belt again or fighting for the belt again."

Check out Khalil Rountree Jr.'s comments below (2:30):

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Edited by Subham