Muay Thai Specialist Khalil Rountree Shuts Down ‘Knockout’ Theory on UFC Glove Snub: “That’s a Hazard!”

Khalil Rountree pitches in on why promotion abandoned KO-less UFC glove design right ahead of UFC 309 PPV at Madison Sqaure Garden.

Muay Thai Specialist Khalil Rountree Shuts Down ‘Knockout’ Theory on UFC Glove Snub: “That’s a Hazard!”

Khalil Rountree offers surprising take on UFC glove shuffle (Source: X)

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As a prolific Muay Thai artist and MMA phenom, recent UFC light heavyweight title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. knows a thing or two about striking. On the flip side, he once wore a UFC glove design that had labels of not punctuating proper knockouts. Recently, Rountree gave his perspective on the matter and on the abandoned glove designs.

‘War Horse’ donned those in his new fight kit package for his UFC 307 PPV title bid against Alex Pereira. He lost that fight, but after the gritty war, Rountree proved why he was chosen for the top order despite being the No.11-ranked fighter at the time. He gave the former champ a run and even dropped ‘Poatan’ once in a pure standup.

The execs and media crew jumped ship back to the old set right before GOAT fighter Jon Jones’ autumn return on the UFC 309 card at MSG in New York. Rumors began to run rampant that with serial-poker Jones returning to the fold, the promotion didn’t want to take chances of a no-KO matchup.

‘Bones’ was the brass’s favorite star at that time and Dana White snubbed a Tom Aspinall unification bout in favor of a Stipe Miocic legacy bout. The change in gloves for Jones did raise some eyebrows. However, the issue might never have been about knockouts. In a recent sit-down with Joe Rogan, Khalil Rountree gave his take on the matter:

The main thing…was that because of the leather, the logos weren’t sticking; So the logos were peeling off, peeling off, peeling off. I’m telling you, we tried hundreds of different ways to get the UFC logo printed – not about knockouts…It’s that every time when the fighters come to return a pair of gloves or whatever or even in the fight, it’s peeling off or chipping off. That’s a hazard…It’s more about the safety of the fighters, not like, ‘We need more knockouts, change the gloves.’

Khalil Rountree Jr. on the ‘JRE’ MMA Show #168 – PowerfulJRE (@joerogan)

For the uninitiated and ultra-casuals, from April to November 2024, UFC competition fighters sported new gloves. It started from Islam Makhachev’s summer title defense at the UFC 302 PPV headliner. Makhachev, the iconic fighter to don both the Venum fight kit and new revised handwear as a first, had little trouble outboxing his opponent.

Said UFC Glove redesign – called the “3Eight” and “5Eight” went public during the historic UFC 300 PPV eve, in a new media kit announcement. UFC 300 Embedded No. 4 Vlog shoots saw Makhachev and others try it on. It was brought to reduce palm injuries and eye pokes. But unlike Makhachev, others had serious problems stemming from it, citing that the KO rate was also reduced.

Rogan’s repeated touting of Trevor Wittman’s glove design as the best in the sport has been noted. Wittman and the UFC engaged in a period of preliminary negotiations regarding the acquisition of the new UFC gloves. That has subsequently hit a snag in recent years. CEO Dana White has said he personally made the jump back to the original kits.

For now, the revert back to the hardware is hardly important for Rountree anymore. The fighter has a pivotal 205-pound booking at UFC 320 to look forward to.

Khalil Rountree Jr. slated to face ex-champ and similarly ballistic fighter on stacked UFC 320 PPV card

Team Syndicate MMA southpaw fighter and top standout Rountree is 1-0 since the UFC glove reshuffle. He recently defeated former prodigal light heavyweight champ Jamahal Hill at UFC Baku. Now, Khalil Rountree has other business to attend to.

Khalil Rountree has his next challenge at UFC 320
Khalil Rountree has his next challenge at UFC 320 (Source: X)

Rountree hopes to earn another 205-pound title shot by winning his upcoming bout against Jiri Prochazka. The light heavyweight bout is set to take the center stage on the UFC 320 PPV main card, following two feature PPV title fights.

The highly anticipated rematch between Magomed Ankalaev and Pereira happens to be one. Prochazka’s last bout was a third-round TKO victory over Hill at UFC 311 in May of this year. Both have momentum heading into their upcoming bout.

Following UFC 320, both Rountree and Prochazka are hoping to earn title bids in a rematch with Pereira. However, if Pereira loses a second time, he is dry stock with a 0-2 record against the current champ. Either light heavyweight, then have a chance to move forward and challenge Anklaev.

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