Khalil Rountree Jr. wasn’t always a chiseled UFC powerhouse like he is today. Before the muscles and thunderous knockouts, there was a kid battling demons, both inside and out. From 305 pounds and two packs of cigarettes a day to a top 10 light heavyweight in the UFC, Rountree’s journey has been nothing short of astonishing.
As he gears up for a crucial clash at UFC Baku against former champion Jamahal Hill, fans wonder how ‘The War Horse’ went from rock bottom to the top tier of MMA? Let’s rewind the clock and break it down.
Khalil Rountree’s struggles with weight, depression, and addiction
For people who don’t know, Khalil Rountree Jr. did not have the best childhood. At just two years old, he lost his father, who was murdered, as revealed by him while speaking to the promotion before his UFC 307 fight.
Losing his father at such a young age had a massive impact on him, and Rountree Jr. lost track of his life. He took up bad habits and started smoking from a very young age, and relied on fast food for his survival.
The 34-year-old keeps a very low profile and doesn’t share much about his personal life. However, after his UFC Vegas 50 victory, ‘The War Horse,’ during an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, shared his childhood misery. He said, “I’d say at the height of my depression and downward spiral, I was 19,”
Rountree Jr. further added, “About 19 is when everything started to hit me. People were going to college, some people were getting jobs, and I was living in a one-bedroom apartment with my mom, my brother, my niece, my sister, struggling to make $750 rent every month. I had no idea what I wanted to be in life, or what I wanted to do, or what I could even do, because at the time, 19 years old, 305 pounds, two packs of cigarettes a day, soda only, if someone had pills I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll take some,’ not even knowing what they are, really just lost with no hope and I didn’t even care.”
So, what changed? His brother took him to the Wand Fight Team gym. That was the first domino. From that moment on, ‘The War Horse’ to reclaim his life had begun.
Khalil Rountree’s weight loss & transformation
Khalil Rountree Jr.’s weight loss journey, just like most, was not at all easy. Overweight and with hardly any prior experience of MMA, the 34-year-old initially started training in local gyms. However, he and his brother decided to join the Wand Fight Team Gym, which proved to be a life-changing affair. Currently, the light-heavyweight fighter is an all-round fighter with all the weapons in his arsenal. From being a deadly striker to having high-level grappling, Rountree Jr. has everything.
However, he first took up Muay Thai and trained under the guidance of Michael Costa, who played a huge role in developing his love for the sport and, during his first interaction, motivated the 34-year-old. However, after staying consistent with his training, he lost around 100 pounds in eleven months and was then featured in his first amateur fight.
October 4, 2024, Salt Lake City, Ut, Salt Lake City, Ut, United States: Khalil Rountree steps on the scale for the ceremonial weigh-ins at the Salt Palace Convention Center for UFC307 – Pereira vs Rountree Jr. on October 4, 2024 in Salt Lake City, UT, United States. /PxImages Salt Lake City, Ut United States – ZUMAp175 20241004_zsa_p175_113 Copyright: xLouisxGrassex
‘The War Horse’ further narrated his story and said, “I lost 100 pounds in 11 months. Three months of just going to training and telling myself, ‘Today, I’m not gonna smoke.’ That was the thing. Those vices were obviously wanting to creep back in but I had to take it day by day and say, ‘You know what, today I’m not gonna do it.’”
His transformation was as much mental as it was physical. Now, as he prepares for his upcoming battle against ‘Sweet Dreams’, let’s take a look at his walk-around weight as the answer may surprise you!
What is Khalil Rountree’s walkaround weight in 2025?
Now that he’s a seasoned contender, fans often ask: What does Khalil Rountree weigh when he’s not fighting? Well, it turns out, he hardly cuts any weight at all. Speaking on the Jaxxon Podcast, Rountree said, “I don’t cut. So the last 4 fights, I didn’t have a weight cut, everything’s been so dialed in during camp that I just coast right into my weight.”
The numbers? He’s usually around 207 to 208 pounds the day before weigh-ins as he further shared, “I sit in the sauna for 40 minutes the day before and then I just wake up on weight.”
No plastics. No brutal weight cuts. Just discipline and routine. That’s rare in a sport where weight-cutting can sometimes lead fighters to drop massive amounts of body weight in the weeks leading up to the fight. A prime example? Conor McGregor in his featherweight days and more recently, Kayla Harrison’s ordeal to make the women’s bantamweight limit.
To wrap things up, from chain-smoking and hopelessness to one of the fittest men in the UFC’s 205-pound division, Khalil Rountree Jr.’s story isn’t just inspiring, it’s proof. Proof that even when life breaks you down, you can rebuild and come back stronger than ever!
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