Khalil Rountree Defends Alex Pereira’s ‘Mistake’ as Hacking Controversy Sparks Rumors of Rift With Dana White & UFC

“I always answered UFC’s calls. If they want to play with me, we can do that… I’m disheartened.” This one tweet by Alex Pereira shook up the entire UFC world, targeting Dana White and the top brass. It sparked chaos among fans, with everyone asking: What happened? As the post spread like wildfire, ‘Poatan’ later clarified it was the work of a malicious hacker. But that didn’t stop the speculation one bit.

Daniel Cormier, the former two-division UFC champ, was one of the few who didn’t buy Pereira’s claim that a hacker was behind the tweet. He’s pretty sure there’s some kind of beef going on between UFC and their biggest star right now, and that the tweet is just an emotional blowup. MMA journalist Ariel Helwani backed up that idea on his show, saying the UFC might’ve disrespected Pereira by switching up Magomed Ankalaev’s opponent after Pereira said no to a last-minute fight at UFC 317.

While the buzz keeps going about whether the Brazilian sent that emotional tweet or not, his former opponent, Khalil Rountree, offers a more compassionate take. They went to war at UFC 307, delivering one of last year’s best fights. So, he thinks people should cut ‘Poatan’ some slack, whether he posted it or not.

On the Believe You Me Podcast, Rountree said, “But, dude, I’m such a neutral guy, like even if he did, I understand. People get frustrated. Like he has done so much for the UFC in the past, in the couple of years. Maybe he just had a moment of breaking and let it loose, who knows? But we’re all human and we make mistakes sometimes. If he did get hacked, that sucks, if he didn’t get hacked, like, give the guy a little break, you know? He doesn’t really mean it.”

That’s a mature and compassionate response from Rountree. He’s known for being a tough fighter but also humble. He’s always given his flowers to Pereira, so this coming from him isn’t surprising at all. Also, whether there’s actually bad blood between UFC and Alex Pereira, we might never know unless one of them decides to say it outright.

While that’s that, Khalil Rountree has now opened up about how he’s been handling things since that loss to ‘Poatan.’ Spoiler alert: he’s made some huge improvements.

Khalil Rountree reveals making massive improvements after his loss to Alex Pereira

The UFC 307 headliner between former two-division champ Alex Pereira and Khalil Rountree was one of last year’s best fights—there’s hardly anyone who’d argue otherwise. Khalil dropped the Brazilian in the second round, then got hammered with jabs and body shots. It was an absolute banger. But there was a small hole in his game that showed during that fight.

Rountree barely used any takedowns in that fight and ended up getting smothered with shots. So, ahead of his next fight against Jamahal Hill at UFC Fight Night Baku, he revealed he’s been working hard to improve his ground game. The Californian said on his YouTube video, “As I climb the ranks and get closer to becoming the champion, knowing that there’s gonna be guys coming after me to get the belt. I wanna be a well-rounded fighter. I wanna be the best version of myself that I can be in all areas. I’m starting to feel so much more confident on the ground, and I can take anyone.”

Well, that newfound confidence on the ground might be thanks to training with 17-time BJJ world champion Marcus Buchecha. The guy’s a grappling legend and has helped plenty of fighters sharpen their jiu-jitsu skills at top gyms like AKA, home to Khabib and Islam, and ATT, where guys like Dustin Poirier and Bo Nickal train. For the unversed, Buchecha also competed in ONE Championship’s heavyweight division.

With that being said, do you think Khalil Rountree would find his way into the title shot if he gets through Jamahal Hill at UFC Fight Night Baku? Or is there another fight in the mix? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.