Unable to claim his Griffin-Bonnar moment, Khalil Rountree intends to entertain at UFC Fight Night 101

MELBOURNE, Australia – Khalil Rountree showed off some spectacular striking skills during his run on “The Ultimate Fighter 23,” but his offense was completely nullified in the season’s live finale. Now returning to the cage for the first time since that loss, Rountree is intent on making some noise.

“I was pretty sad to lose the fight, but I was more sad that I couldn’t perform how I wanted to,” Rountree told MMAjunkie. “Being that was the TUF 23 Finale, in my mind, I wanted to make that historical. I wanted to have like a Forrest Griffin-Stephan Bonnar type of thing. That’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to make sure that everybody was entertained.

“People wanted to see this fight. The fact that I didn’t really get to do much, that was more of a bummer for me. Losing, I was like, ‘Oh, that sucks.’ It kind of put me in jeopardy in my job, but I think overall, I wanted to do more.”

Rountree (4-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) suffered a one-sided decision loss to Andrew Sanchez in the tournament final. Still, he was invited back to the promotion and now meets octagon newcomer and fellow light heavywight Tyson Pedro (4-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 101, which takes place Saturday (Sunday in Australia) at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The event, including Rountree’s main-card bouts, airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

Rountree said the tournament loss proved a learning tool, and he’s been focused on shoring up the gaps before his second UFC appearance.

“I think in the fight back home in July, what went wrong was just my lack of knowledge,” Rountree said. “I think that I was mentally prepared. I was physically prepared to fight that fight, but I just didn’t know enough. Even Andrew said in his post-fight thing, he’s like, ‘Khalil is really green,’ and that’s true. I’ve only been fighting for five years now – training for six and fighting for five, so there’s still a lot for me to learn, and I’m eager to learn everything.”

Pedro is considered a top Australian prospect, and while he owns even less professional experience than Khalil, Pedro’s been training for a lifetime and may have the more well-rounded skillset.

Rountree said he didn’t concern himself with his opponent’s pedigree before accepting the contest.

“I get to stay sharp,” Rountree said. “I get to be on my best performance and behavior and make sure that I don’t disappoint this time.

“I’m excited to just let me art happen, my creativity happen, and let the fight go wherever instead of worrying about just one area.”

For Rountree, UFC Fight Night 101 represents a pivotal moment. Win, and a UFC career can start in earnest. Lose, and there’s simply no guarantee what comes next. But for the 26-year-old, the result matters, but not as much as the opportunity to entertain.

“For me, (the focus) is always to put on a show,” Rountree said. “I think that in this sport, I could go out there and win the fight by laying on the guy or by doing something else, but I want to be able to make sure that people remember my last fight. So putting on a show (is the priority).

“If I lose and I get cut, it’s not the end of the world. But at least if I get an opportunity to put on a good show, I can remember it, and the fans can remember it. It can be something that 10 years from now. I can watch and say, ‘Hey, that was cool. I gave it my best shot.’ I think that just being able to put on a performance is most import for me.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 101, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.