Khalil Rountree Jr. will be sporting some new swag when he makes his walk to the Octagon on Saturday.
Coming off a frustrating loss against Alex Pereira, ‘The War Horse’ will look to climb back into the win column and the title picture at UFC Baku. Standing in his way will be former 205-pound titleholder Jamahal Hill.
Competing in his second consecutive main event, Rountree Jr. will enter the cage with a fresh pair of custom Venum fight shorts. The UFC recently offered fight fans their first look at the one-time title challenger’s design, which you can check out below:
During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Rountree Jr. offered some insight into the design, revealing that his love for Thailand and Las Vegas inspired him greatly.
“The design inspiration comes a lot from me—it’s got my Sakyan tattoos that I received in Thailand, which are special to me,” Rountree said. I wanted to put that representation of just how much Thailand means to me, how much Muay Thai means to me, and my tattoos that I got in honor of my martial arts journey.
“I put some mountains on the legs, which represent Las Vegas—my home. I wanted a piece of me and a piece of Vegas on my shorts, but I didn’t want slot machines and poker chips or Elvis Presley on my shorts! Vegas to me is the mountain scenery—it’s amazing. The shorts were split in half like yin and yang, and I just think that’s the duality of life, and also just doing my best to find balance throughout my journey.”
Rountree Jr. is thrilled to join other notable fighters who have donned custom shorts
In the past, customized fight kits have typically been reserved for world champions and top stars within the promotion, such as Israel Adesanya, Dricus Du Plessis, Leon Edwards, Dustin Poirier, Max Holloway, and Valentina Shevchenko.
So it was a bit of a surprise to Rountree Jr. when he was given the opportunity to create his own, but after more than a decade of competing inside the Octagon, he feels he’s earned it.
“It’s nice because mostly champions or number one contenders are usually the ones to get them,” he continued. “I think the UFC knows exactly what they’re doing. I’ve been in the UFC now for 11 years, and my fan base is now growing. I don’t think the UFC thinks I’m going anywhere anytime soon. I’ll be around for a while. I think it’s a safe decision to make.”
