The image of Khalil Rountree Jr. walking out of UFC 307 still lingers in the minds of fans. His face bloodied, his nose visibly damaged, and yet, there was no quit in him. He had stood toe-to-toe with Alex Pereira in Salt Lake City, one of the most feared strikers in the sport, and nearly dethroned him. But what happened to his nose after that beating?
Three rounds of fierce exchanges gave way to heartbreak in the fourth. Poatan’s uppercut found its mark, and moments later, ‘The War Horse’ was stopped by a flurry of body shots. As the referee waved it off, it was clear that the challenger had absorbed more than just defeat. His nose, broken and battered, became one of the night’s lasting images. So, was it just cosmetic, or something far worse?
Khalil Rountree’s brutal nose injury explained
The answer came quickly. In an update after the fight, Khalil Rountree Jr. revealed that scans showed a fractured nose and a severely deviated septum. The damage was so extensive that surgery was required as soon as he returned home. As such, speaking on his podcast, former UFC star Brendan Schaub confessed, “What you saw Rountree Jr do, he will never be the same. The cracks in his face, the cut on his nose, the cut over his eye will never look the same and who knows what it will lead to down the road.”
The context only makes it more staggering. As per reports, Rountree was winning on all three judges’ scorecards before Pereira landed his fight-ending sequence. For about 15 minutes, he had matched the champion strike for strike before one uppercut changed the trajectory of the fight and his health. So, what exactly was the procedure that Rountree had to undergo?
Khalil Rountree undergoes nose surgery
Within days, Rountree underwent septoplasty, a corrective procedure to fix his nasal septum. “I don’t know what punch, but I know that last uppercut before the body shots definitely landed on my nose,” he later told Kevin Iole. According to him, doctors confirmed the fracture and deviation, which made the surgery unavoidable.
The procedure, however, wasn’t easy to endure. “Definitely the most uncomfortable, painful procedure I’ve ever had,” Rountree admitted. He described sleepless nights, constant headaches, and a mouth so dry it made recovery unbearable. His nasal cavities were packed with sponges and splints, leaving him in persistent discomfort.
Still, his mindset never wavered. ‘The War Horse’ stated, “Every scar that I have, every bump, it’s all worth it, For me to have worked this hard to get to the point of fighting Alex in a main event for a title, everything that came with it was absolutely worth it. I wouldn’t change one thing.” As such, even in defeat, he felt he had gained something lasting. But now, with his UFC 320 clash against Jiri Prochazka looming on the horizon, is his nose still damaged?
Is Khalil Rountree’s nose still broken?
The answer, thankfully, is no. Thanks to the surgery, his breathing was restored, and he has since returned to training without limitations. His June 2025 win over Jamahal Hill proved the recovery was not just cosmetic; it restored him as a real threat in the division.
Now, the 35-year-old finds himself once again on the doorstep of greatness. At UFC 320, he faces former champion Jiri Prochazka in a light heavyweight clash at T-Mobile Arena. The stakes? A win here could provide him with the momentum he needs to secure another shot at the belt.
Rountree himself has made the motivation clear, speaking to reporters at a recent open workout, “The motivation is seeing the possibility, really seeing the possibility of being able to achieve the belt, being able to actually hold it, That possibility seems really, really close. That’s the motivation part. The discipline part is, being that close is a lot to have to… I’m almost there.”
So, from Brendan Schaub’s warning that he may “never be the same” to Rountree’s own vow that every scar is “worth it,” the story of his injury has become part of his identity. The surgery gave him back his breathing and, more importantly, his confidence. Now, as he prepares to face Prochazka at UFC 320, the question shifts from whether his nose has healed to whether his spirit can carry him to the belt!