Smith vs Rountree Jr.

Who won Smith vs Rountree Jr.?

Khalil Rountree beat Anthony Smith by knockout in the 3rd round during the co-main event of UFC Fight Night, on Saturday 9th December 2023 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Light Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 205 pounds (14.6 stone or 93 KG).

Smith vs Rountree Jr. stats

Anthony Smith stepped into the octagon with a record of 37 wins, 18 losses and 0 draws, 19 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 14 by submission.

Khalil Rountree made his way to the cage with a record of 12 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 8 of those wins coming by knock out.

This was Anthony Smith's 25th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2013. Khalil Rountree marked his 17th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2016.

Anthony Smith's UFC record stood at 13-12-0, while Khalil Rountree's came in at 10-6-0.

The stats suggested Rountree had an advantage in power over Smith, with a 67% knock out percentage over Smith's 51%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Smith had a massive advantage over Rountree, boasting a 38% submission rate over Rountree's 0%.

Anthony Smith was the older man by 1 year, at 36 years old.

Smith had a height advantage of 3 inches over Rountree. That also extended to a 2-inch reach advantage.

Smith was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 38 more fights, and made his debut in 2008, 6 years and 3 months earlier than Rountree, whose first professional fight was in 2014. He had fought 70 more professional rounds, 116 to Rountree's 46.

Smith vs Rountree Jr. form

Anthony Smith had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Devin Clark at UFC Vegas 15 on 28th November 2020 by submission in the 1st round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had lost to Aleksandar Rakic at UFC Vegas 8 on 29th August 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Glover Teixeira at UFC Fight Night Jacksonville on 13th May 2020 by knockout in the 5th round at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville.

Before that, he had beaten Alexander Gustafsson at UFC on ESPN+ 11 on 1st June 2019 by submission in the 4th round at Ericsson Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden.

He had been defeated by Jon Jones at UFC 235 on 2nd March 2019 by unanimous decision in their UFC Light Heavyweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Rountree had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 3 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had defeated Chris Daukaus at UFC Fight Night – Luque vs Dos Anjos on 12th August 2023 by knockout in the 1st round at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he was victorious against Dustin Jacoby at UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Allen on 29th October 2022 by split decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had won against Karl Roberson at UFC Fight Night on 12th March 2022 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had beaten Modestas Bukauskas at UFC Vegas 36 on 4th September 2021 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He had lost to Ion Cutelaba at UFC on ESPN+ 18 on 28th September 2019 by knockout in the 1st round at Royal Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Khalil Rountree had been fighting more than Anthony Smith.

Going to this contest, Anthony Smith had last fought 4 years, 6 months and 30 days ago, while Khalil Rountree's last outing had been 1 year, 10 months and 15 days ago.

Smith's last 5 fights had come over a period of 6 years, 3 months and 25 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 3 months and 6 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 18 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.6 rounds on average.

Rountree's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 8 months and 30 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 1 month and 23 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 9 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.8 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Smith vs Rountree Jr.?

Anthony Smith was a 33/20 (+170) underdog going into the contest, while Khalil Rountree made his way into the ring at 1/2 (-200) with oddsmakers.