MANILA, Philippines – It is a battle between two strikers.
There’s Khalil Rountree, who has finally put it together by stringing four consecutive wins with a rededicated purpose and training. And there’s Anthony Smith, who believes that critics are prematurely saying he is done as a fighter.
Rountree believes it will be an explosive fight; Smith believes it will not even go the distance and will not even merit any Fight of the Night nod.
“It has the potential to go back and forth," Smith conceded.
The two meet in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night: Song vs Gutierrez on Sunday, December 10, at the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada — the penultimate UFC event for 2023.
“It is big in the sense that an impressive victory can catapult me into the Top 10 and the ultimate prize,” summarized the 11th-ranked light heavyweight Rountree, who sports a 13-5-0 slate, including one no contest. “I am excited.”
“I had injuries in 2020 and 2021 that limited my Octagon time. This year, I have been pretty healthy and wanted to be very active. I am excited to fight,” offered Smith.
“As far as this fight goes. You know what you’re getting into when you fight Khalil Rountree. It is his explosiveness, power and speed versus my technical ability, experience and savvy.”
Smith postulates that Rountree doesn’t do very well when playing catch-up. “You ever see Khalil come back from behind,” he asked?
Rountree dismissed the allegations that he cannot pull back from the brink.
“There have been opponents that have tried to put me on my back heel,” he acknowledged. “Moving forward is a place where I feel comfortable. But I realized in recent fights that I don’t have to only go forward. I am not afraid of going backwards. Since I have dedicated so much time to training these past two years, now I am comfortable wherever the fight goes, even against a grappler.”
“I got to the point where I realized in the past, I wasn’t working hard enough. I would do just as much as I could to get by when it came to training. After a fight, I would take time off and try to live a normal life and be more involved in my other interests.”
Conversely, there have been thoughts that Smith doesn’t have it anymore and that he is transitioning to a life outside the Octagon with his broadcasting work.
He vehemently disagreed. “That old lionheart is still there. I see what people say about how I am distracted with other things and I am not all in. I will say sometimes, they are right. Sometimes, I juggle too much. Something’s going to get lost. I got a wife and four kids and a lot of stuff — UFC, ESPN, my podcast. I think the correct answer is, sometimes, I lose focus on my opponent. Sometimes I think I don’t think about them enough.”
For now, with the fight between Rountree and Smith a few days away, the inevitable is here. Both know this fight is huge.
“This fight was going to happen,” bared Rountree. “In my mind, I knew that there is a possibility I will fight Anthony Smith in my journey to the title. Now we’re here.
The past year has been enough preparation for a fight of this caliber.”
For his part, Smith simply said, “I am laser-focused on this fight.”
UFC Fight Night Song vs Gutierrez will be televised live in the Philippines on the Premier Sports channel on Skycable and Cignal as well as on the streaming site Blast TV. The preliminary card gets underway at 8 a.m., with the main card kicking off at 11 a.m.