Khalil Rountree Jr. responds to Magomed Ankalaev's criticism of UFC on ABC 8 decision win
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Khalil Rountree Jr. was annoyed by the reaction the UFC light heavyweight champion had to his latest win.
Rountree (14-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC), who defeated Jamahal Hill by unanimous decision in the main event of UFC on ABC 8 on Saturday, drew a four-word response from Magomed Ankalaev: "I am falling asleep." That was what Ankalaev wrote on X during Rountree's dominant win in Baku, Azerbaijan.
"It's expected," Rountree said at the UFC on ABC 8 post-fight press conference. "That guy talks more about me than I talk about him. He says so much. It's like, 'Bro, you're the champion. Why are you talking about me? Get away. Go enjoy being the champion. Quit talking about me on Twitter.' Gosh. No more Ankalaev questions today. If you ask me, I'm putting the mic down."
Rountree had plenty of success, fighting Hill. He connected clean multiple times, and mauled Hill's leg with kicks. However, there were periods of inactivity and times when Rountree was circling away from the former champion and not engaging, being up on the scorecards. Some online felt he could've done more to look for a finish.
Despite the criticism, Rountree, who was coming off TKO loss to Alex Pereira last October, was actually very happy with his performance, as he intentionally wanted to fight the way he did on Saturday.
"I think the fight was great. I was patient. I took my time. I stayed as safe as I could stay, still while defending myself and protecting myself and securing the rounds," Rountree said. "I thought that it was well thought-out. I thought that I had phenomenal coaching, a great game plan, and I thought I kept my composure in moments that I wanted to just rush and try to finish. I held myself back for the sake of going the distance and gaining more experience in the octagon."
I am falling asleep— Muhammad big ANK Ankalaev (@AnkalaevM) June 21, 2025
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Khalil Rountree Jr responds to Ankalaev's criticism of his latest win
