Alex Pereira’s next world title contender was due to join him on UFC 303 in June, but was suspended for ingesting a banned substance.
Khalil Rountree Jr has detailed how he outsourced his issuer of supplements ahead of a planned fight with Jamahal Hill, and unknowingly took a substance that was on the UFC banned list. He was slapped with a two month suspension and forced out of that bout, but is now back and fighting for world honors.
Rountree immediately informed the promotion once he was made aware of what had happened, and didn’t push through with fighting as a result. This meant he was able to be given a brief two-month suspension, which is over now as he prepares for the biggest night of his life at UFC 307.
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Khalil Rountree Jr was slapped with suspension over banned substance
UFC 303 was initially set to be headlined by Conor McGregor’s comeback fight against Michael Chandler. Khalil Rountree Jr was due to be the co-main event against former champion Jamahal Hill, but the fight was pulled just weeks out due to his admittance to taking a banned substance.
The fighter confessed to accidentally ingesting DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone), which is an anabolic agent banned at all times for athletes. In a statement, he insisted that he took it through a supplement he was given during preparation for his fight.
Afterwards, he was tested and the sample collected came back positive for “the exogenous origin of 5a-androstanediol, 5b-androstanediol and androsterone, all metabolites of DHEA,” according to a statement from the UFC.
The statement also declared that their test, along with evidence Rountree provided of how he got the substance from a fitness brand, showed “short-term use of DHEA in the doses present in the dietary supplement did not provide any significant performance benefits.”
Khalil Rountree Jr explains how he ingested banned substance
After his initial statement, Rountree Jr had remained relatively quiet until last week it was announced that he would be next up for Alex Pereira at UFC 307. Ironically, he would have been sharing a card with the Brazilian if he had stayed on UFC 303, and he now gets his shot at gold in a surprise matchup.
But in a recent appearance on the Jaxxon Podcast, Rountree Jr explained in as much detail as he could exactly how he ended up taking a banned substance. “My test did come back positive for DHEA, which is non-performance enhancing if you look into it… I never knew what it was.
“So I didn’t know what it was, I didn’t know that I was being given that… It doesn’t do anything to performance from what I’ve read, but UFC did have to issue me a two-month suspension minimum so because I was booked to fight in Nevada, Nevada State also had to issue a separate suspension.
“That just limits me from fighting in any combat sports or sanctioned events. From my understanding if it gets issues in Nevada, maybe technically I could fight in another state but it’s just… It’s frowned upon which is understandable.
“It’s almost disrespectful if the UFC, say, booked me in Texas instead. That’s disrespectful to Nevada, so I understand that part but it is very unfortunate.”
Khalil Rountree Jr was inspired to continue fighting by Alex Pereira
While Jaxxon co-host and former world champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson first believed that Rountree was unsure about facing Pereira, it turns out that was just the opposite. A famed striker, the California native believes they should be fighting as soon as possible to capitalise on their styles.
“I’ve been asking for that,” he told after branding Jackson ‘crazy’ for feeling he was afraid of the challenge. “It’s no disrespect, I think that I’m actually pretty grateful that a guy like him has done what he’s done so far.
“He’s given me inspiration, honestly. I wasn’t really that excited about MMA after guys like Anderson and Lyoto stopped fighting, even . I didn’t know what to look forward to.
“Now, this division and this sport has somebody like Alex who I can fight, immediately when I wake up in the morning I’ve got a goal, I’ve got a target, I’ve got a person. So it’s good, I’m pretty grateful for it, actually.”
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