Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports
Khalil Rountree is outraged over an inaccurate report that he is slated to fight Greg Hardy at UFC 252.
Khalil Rountree is pissed following reports that he will move up a weight class to fight polarizing heavyweight Greg Hardy at UFC 252.
Rountree (8-4-0-1) was slated to fight Hardy (6-2-0-1) at UFC 252 on August 15, according to a report from Combate. In a follow-up Instagram video, a frustrated Rountree insisted the “fake news” was a case of careless reporting.
“As far as any bout agreement being signed, it’s fake news. I’m actually upset with the reporter,” Rountree asserted. “He reached out to me and I specifically told him, ‘don’t be putting out stories that are not true.’”
“It’s ridiculous. I’m highly upset. This guy has no type of care,” the light-heavyweight continued. “It’s not confirmed. It’s not even close to confirmed. It’s upsetting. It puts a lot of pressure.”
Rountree said there are many variables getting in the way of him signing a bout agreement.
“I was offered a fight at heavyweight to go up. The second thing is, I know that it’s a big jump so I’m doing everything that’s possible to make sure that it’s the right thing. To make sure that I’m healthy and to make sure I’m strong,” Rountree expressed. “It’s a bit frustrating that there are so many variables to me fighting right now. Especially being in Thailand. I can’t travel, I don’t know if I can come back here. I don’t know if my coaches can come back without quarantining once they leave the country. Passport things.”
Rountree is coming off a 2019 TKO loss to Ion Cutelaba. Earlier this year, he suggested that his next fight may be the last of his career. He had been scheduled to face Sam Alvey at one of the UFC’s cancelled March events. Alvey ended up facing Ryan Spann at UFC 249 in May, instead.
UFC 252 is headlined by the long-awaited trilogy fight between UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and former two-division titleholder Daniel Cormier. A heavyweight bout between Junior Dos Santos and Jairzinho Rozenstruik is also planned for the event.