Khalil Rountree: A Valiant Effort

Tactically Sound, Strategically Flawed

Rountree Makes His Stand

Contents:

• Boxing

• Future Blueprint

• Kick Defense

• The Back Foot

Khalil Rountree had an inspired performance against one of the scariest men in mixed martial arts. His prospects looked bleak. A violent man who often fails when he is ready for the next big step, ranked 8th without a grappling threat. Khalil Rountree is not the prototype for beating Alex Pereira in MMA, but he forged 13 minutes of success anyway.

The light heavyweight champion retained his championship, but this does not mean that there is nothing to learn from Khalil Rountree. Khalil Rountree fought well until the end of the third but could have created a more competitive fight had his tools matched his strategy.

V1: Pereira opens the fight with a lead leg front kick, immediately caught by Rountree who spins Pereira to the ground. Khalil punches towards Pereira’s face as he stands up without committing, and backs off to the center of the cage.

Disclaimer: The video clips included in this article are not owned by the author. They are included for educational purposes only to illustrate key moments in the fighter’s career and demonstrate aspects of mixed martial arts techniques and strategies. All rights to the video content belong to their respective owners.

The opening sequence of the fight showcased the problems that would permeate through Rountree’s performance (V1). Rountree is able to catch Pereira’s kick and bring him to the ground. We see Rountree feint the punch as the champion stands up and he retreats to the center of the cage.

Why?

Rountree abandoned a dominant position that Pereira gave to him, and allowed him to reset. Rountree had the option to punch Pereira as he stood up and/or push into the clinch and bring Pereira to the cage. Neither of these options afford Pereira, not known for his grappling ability on the bottom, to retaliate. Throughout the 4 rounds of this fight, we consistently see Rountree utilize tools that work in isolation. The issue is that said tools are suited to pressuring a defensively porous Pereira, while Rountree waited on the back foot to explode in with punches. Even in moments he would push Pereira back, we see him back off without an obvious reason like in V1.

Boxing

In the first three rounds of the fight, Pereira chose to build the low kick and high kick as the pillars of his offense. In his previous title defense against Jiri Prochazka, his head kick secured the win. He seemed intent to replicate this success, but it hinged on his stealthy outside calf kick. Once established, he can create a double attack with his kicking, switching between targets high and low. Fortunately for Rountree, his being a southpaw complicated this just enough.

In the open stance matchup, Pereira is forced to step up into his calf kicks. His kicks are usually without tell and incredibly quick, but this step up adds an additional moment for an opponent to react. A moment can be everything in fighting. Rountree seized it by exploding into punches every time Pereira kicked the calf (V2, V3). I cannot tell wether he was able to check in V3 given his mixed success in the past but achieved nominal success reaching Pereira by punching as he committed to kicking.

V2: Routree steps into a 2 to the body and shifts through on a 3 to the head the moment Pereira steps up into an outside calf kick. He follows up with a 2 and a slight pivot as Pereira finds his stance.

V3: Pereira steps up into an outside calf kick. From this angle I cannot tell wether Rountree is checking or gets off-balanced from the kick, but after the action he steps up into a wide 3 that clears Pereira’s guard for a left straight that barely misses the chin, landing on the chest as Pereira backs away.

Rountree’s primary form of boxing offense came on the back foot. In V4 we see Rountree coil up before exploding into his shots. While this provides an obvious tell to his punches his power and range are maximized. Though Rountree cannot quite meet the mark from kicking range (V4), we do see Rountree rattle Pereira with a left overhand as he dips inside to counter Pereira’s jab (V5). From V5 it is important to note that Rountree’s boxing fundamentals are actually quite sound. Though Pereira is lauded as the more accomplished kickboxer, he can be defensively porous. Within the exchange we see Rountree with more efficient head movement and retraction on his punches, throwing two before Pereira can retract his jab. Though Pereira moved his head out from Rountree’s jab, his exaggerated movement leaves him a sucker for the follow up shot.

V4: Pereira throws a snappy front kick that bounces Rountree back. You can see him coil up from here and explode into a jab to the chest and rear hand that glances off Pereira’s chin. He throws with such force that the rear hand squares his stance before he re-blades it himself.

V5: Pereira follows Rountree along the perimeter of the black line. Rountree stops to trade with Pereira. Rountree’s jab falls outside of Pereira’s, sliding off his shoulder, and he is able to dip inside of Pereira’s jab as it slides over his own shoulder. Rountree’s slip is much less exaggerated, and his head stays over his hips and he is in a much better position to follow up relative to Pereira, who dipped wide to the outside. From the jab, Rountree stepped outside of Pereira’s foot to gain a dominant foot position, and cracked Pereira with a rear straight. He tried to follow up with the same combination but Pereira was already backing out of range.

Rountree’s boxing fundamentals and timing could not overcome the harsh range differential between the two men. Alex Pereira is not a defensive striking savant. His primary reaction to pressure is to simply back away on a straight line. He finds some nuance in framing off the opponent as he retreats, but rarely do we see him move laterally or counter (V6). Though Rountree sought to counter the beginning of Pereira’s combination, leaping through range could not overcome the difference in height and reach between the two men (V7). Rountree’s head hunting (with no follow up) did did little to overcome this hindrance.

V6: Pereira catches Rountree’s non-committal jab, sliding it away by jabbing Rountree hard. Rountree coils into his stance after being jabbed, and explodes into a shifting 2-3-2. While the first rear hand smashes the chin in, the 3 lands with less authority and the final rear hand merely boops the nose as Pereira retreats.

V7: As Pereira jabs, Rountree slightly retreats to coil his stance as the jab slides off his forehead. Rountree jumps into a rear hand, shifting lead hook, and shifting (back into his original stance) rear hand (the same 2-3-2 as in V6). This time, Rountree’s punches fall just short of the mark as Pereira retreats and maintains a long frame from his jab on Rountree’s head.