Khalil Rountree Jr. will probably be sporting some new swag when he makes his stroll to the Octagon on Saturday.
Coming off a irritating loss in opposition to Alex Pereira, ‘The Warfare Horse’ will look to climb again into the win column and the title image at UFC Baku. Standing in his approach will probably be former 205-pound titleholder Jamahal Hill.
Competing in his second consecutive most important occasion, Rountree Jr. will enter the cage with a contemporary pair of customized Venum combat shorts. The UFC lately supplied combat followers their first take a look at the one-time title challenger’s design, which you’ll take a look at under:
Throughout a current interview with MMA Junkie, Rountree Jr. supplied some perception into the design, revealing that his love for Thailand and Las Vegas impressed him tremendously.
“The design inspiration comes loads from me—it’s received my Sakyan tattoos that I obtained in Thailand, that are particular to me,” Rountree mentioned. I wished to place that illustration of simply how a lot Thailand means to me, how a lot Muay Thai means to me, and my tattoos that I received in honor of my martial arts journey.
“I put some mountains on the legs, which symbolize Las Vegas—my dwelling. I wished a bit of me and a bit of Vegas on my shorts, however I didn’t need slot machines and poker chips or Elvis Presley on my shorts! Vegas to me is the mountain surroundings—it’s wonderful. The shorts had been break up in half like yin and yang, and I simply suppose that’s the duality of life, and in addition simply doing my finest to search out steadiness all through my journey.”
Rountree Jr. is thrilled to affix different notable fighters who’ve donned customized shorts
Prior to now, custom-made combat kits have sometimes been reserved for world champions and prime stars throughout the promotion, equivalent to Israel Adesanya, Dricus Du Plessis, Leon Edwards, Dustin Poirier, Max Holloway, and Valentina Shevchenko.
So it was a little bit of a shock to Rountree Jr. when he was given the chance to create his personal, however after greater than a decade of competing contained in the Octagon, he feels he’s earned it.
“It’s good as a result of largely champions or primary contenders are often those to get them,” he continued. “I feel the UFC is aware of precisely what they’re doing. I’ve been within the UFC now for 11 years, and my fan base is now rising. I don’t suppose the UFC thinks I’m going wherever anytime quickly. I’ll be round for some time. I feel it’s a secure resolution to make.”
