After Khalil Rountree demolished Karl Roberson this weekend, he offered a heartfelt, inspirational message at the post-fight press conference. Rountree revealed the struggle that led him to the UFC, beginning at a time when he weighed three hundred pounds.
“We hear about certain fighters’ stories and it’s like, ‘Okay, that’s cool. Well, on to the next, or talk about the fight, No, man. We’re still people.
Khalil Rountree’s Inspirational Post-Fight Speech
Yes, I come in here and I put on performances, and people know me as fighting, but it’s like that whole part of – man, when I (was) like 300 pounds without a hope or a dream or a dollar in my pocket, stepped into an MMA gym to try to change my life.
Every time I’m in here, that’s still growth. It’s not like I’ve just surpassed that person. Every single day I have to wake up to that person.
Every single day I have to fight that person. Just because I’m in the UFC, just because I fight, doesn’t mean that person is long gone, you know? I still have demons, I still have doubts.
Yeah, I have f*ckin’ doubts. Everybody does. When you’re doing something good in life, when you’re doing something that’s trying to surpass everything else and do something that’s meaningful, f*ck yeah you’re gonna have doubts.”
Rountree offered an inspirational message to anyone struggling with themselves and self-doubt. He encouraged people to simply fight their own fight.
“I’m still the guy, although I’ve grown and I’m taking on more challenges and I’m growing as a man, it’s like my fight is different than everybody else. Everybody else has their own fight.
For me, part of that is how do you get a man off of the couch, from killing himself with eating trashy food, and smoking cigarettes, and watching porn, and doing all this toxic sh*t to be an all-star athlete? The switch just doesn’t flip like that.
It’s a constant progression and I think that there’s millions of people out there that kind of need help in those steps of like, hey, guide me here’ Yeah, I’m cheering for you, but how do I do it? What’s next? If I’m not winning fights, one, I make half of my money, and two, nobody gives a sh*t.
The person who loses the fight kind of gets forgotten about. You don’t get an interview, you don’t get this, you don’t get that. Only the winners get to say a piece.” It might sound a bit cliche, or you’ve heard this before, but your life matters.
You can be special. You can be strong. You can be seen. You can be heard. Life is beautiful if you make it that way. It doesn’t have to be how everybody else makes it seem. Stick around. Stick around another day.”
What do you think of Rountree’s speech? Let us know in the comments.
