Khalil Rountree’s coach convinced him to avoid fighting Magomed Ankalaev injured: “He was going to do it”

Khalil Rountree had every intention of making the UFC Abu Dhabi trip, but his coach made him think better of the situation.

Rountree was scheduled to meet Magomed Ankalaev this past Saturday for a pivotal light heavyweight bout inside Etihad Arena. “The War Horse” ultimately pulled out of the fight due to an injury. Bogdan Guskov stepped in, and he was finished in the fifth round via TKO.

Jake Noecker of Home of Fight got a chance to speak with Rountree’s coach John Wood. The Syndicate MMA leader revealed that he had to convince Rountree to remove himself from the planned bout with Ankalaev because the opportunity was too great to walk in compromised (via MMAJunkie).

“I don’t think it’s going to be that serious,” Wood said. “Fortunately, we kind of escaped any kind of surgical stuff, but for sure, it was a hindrance in camp that it got to a point where he couldn’t really do much. And in a fight that big, man, those are the decisions that suck. He really didn’t actually even want to – he was going to do it. He was full on and had the conversations like, ‘You know what? I’m just going to bite down and go.’ I kind of made the decision of like, ‘No, dude. This is too big of an opportunity, too big of a situation, you’re fighting the No. 1 contender.’ You might as well be fighting almost for a title at that point in time.”

While the decision wasn’t an easy one to make, the good news is that Rountree’s team believes he’ll be good to go in the near future. Rountree remains a top name in the 205-pound division, and perhaps his name will be called again for a fight against the likes of Ankalaev or even Paulo Costa.

Reigning UFC light heavyweight titleholder Carlos Ulberg, who is also sidelined with an injury, suggested Rountree vs. Costa and Ankalaev vs. Jiri Prochazka. Ulberg believes the more impressive winner of the two fights can challenge him for the 205-pound gold.

Who do you want to see Khalil Rountree fight next once he recovers from his injury? Sound off in the comments below.