Khalil Rountree hoped for ranked opponent at UFC on ESPN 51, but settled for Chris Daukaus

LAS VEGAS – Khalil Rountree was looking to climb the light heavyweight ladder but drew a divisional newcomer instead.

Rountree (11-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) welcomes Chris Daukaus (12-6 MMA, 4-3 UFC) to the light heavyweight division on Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 51 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

Having won three straight, Daukaus wasn’t the opponent Rountree was looking for, but he didn’t have too much of a choice.

“I had just gotten into the rankings. I was preparing for someone within the top 15, and that’s what I was asking for,” Rountree told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Thursday’s media day. “Some of the guys were injured. Some of the guys were already booked. I guess my only option was to sit the bench until someone opened up if that’s what I wanted. ‘If you want somebody in the top 15, we don’t got somebody right now, so don’t know when I can book you.’

“That was kind of the conversation. At first, I was like, ‘Ah, OK, whatever. I’ll wait around.’ But not too long after, the offer of Daukaus came up and I took a little bit of time to contemplate it because it was in a way, completely opposite of what I was asking for. But something that was brought to my attention was, OK, he’s not ranked in the light heavyweight division, but he’s ranked in the heavyweight division. So if you’re looking for somebody ranked, there you go – you’ve got it.”

Daukaus has lost three in a row at heavyweight, so doesn’t exactly meet the criteria Rountree was hoping for. However, he is still a ranked heavyweight.

“It wasn’t an easy decision,” Rountree said. “It definitely took some contemplation, film study, things like that, and I finally came to the decision of, ‘I’m here to fight the best. I want to and believe that I can be a contender.’ Now, it’s just a matter of handling the challenges in front of me. So if I’m here to fight the best and they give me Chris Daukaus – he’s a UFC fighter, he’s a ranked heavyweight, he’s great. OK, cool. This is also in a way what I asked for.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 51.