Khalil Rountree Expresses Gratitude for Custom UFC Shorts, Unveils Design Inspiration

Khalil Rountree says a lot of thought and consideration went into his UFC on ABC 8 custom fight shorts.

When Rountree (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) makes his walk to the cage Saturday in Baku, Azerbaijan for his headlining bout vs. Jamahal Hill (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC), he'll sport white and gray shorts with images that pay tribute to various aspects of his life and travels.

"I got invited to design custom fight shorts, which was an absolute surprise, but I was so happy," Rountree told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. "The design inspiration, it's a lot about me."

Featured perhaps most prominently is a design similar to Rountree's sak yant tattoos, which he got in Thailand, a place he trained extensively in order to craft his muay Thai abilities. His current home city of Las Vegas is also represented.

"I wanted to put that representation of how much Thailand means to me and how much muay Thai means to me and my tattoos that I've got in honor of my martial arts journey, and that journey through Thailand," Rountree said. "Then I put some mountains on the legs that represent Las Vegas, my home. It's where I'm from. I wanted a piece of me and piece of Vegas on my shorts, but I didn't want slot machines and poker chips or Elvis Presley on my shorts. Vegas, to me, I love the mountain scenery. It's amazing. We've got the Red Rocks. We've got a lot of cool things there. That's just my way of kind of putting my Las Vegas stamp on there."

Rountree said the two locations represent his duality. He is not the same person inside the cage as he is out of it. That's what he tried, and feels he succeeded in, doing during an extensive workshopping process with UFC apparel partner Venum.

"A lot of people, when the talks about me, or the people who know about me, maybe my fighting style is known as violent or aggressive," Rountree said. "If people know me, they're like, 'Oh, you're such a different person than you are in the cage. I think that's just life. I do see a lot of contrasting things and duality of life and doing my best to find balance throughout my journey. That's why the shorts are split in half like yin and yang. I just think I did my best to make custom shorts that were just personal to me, and that really had some key things that just represent me as a person and as a fighter."

Custom fight kits are rare and typically reserved for the creme de la creme of UFC talent. Rountree is honored to be included in the exclusive group and said it makes sense despite what the critics might say.

"I'm really grateful," Rountree said. "It's nice because I do realize mostly champions or certain No. 1 contenders and stuff are usually the ones to get them. But I think the UFC knows exactly what they are doing. They are a billion-dollar business for a reason. I think that when it comes to me and just being with the business, I think that it's not a bad thing to do. I've been in the UFC now for 11 years. I finally got a fight to where my fanbase is now growing. But I don't think the UFC thinks I'm going anywhere anytime soon. I don't think I'm on the verge of getting cut or anything like that. I think it's a safe decision. It's a safe decision to make. I'll be around for a while.

"I think I'll continue to connect with the fans for as long as I'm in the business. Maybe people who are new to this will think, 'Oh, this guy hasn't been around,' or blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But I've been here for a long time now. I've been here for a long time. Maybe I haven't been at the top for a long time, but I've been in the business for a long time now. I've been loyal and dedicated to the UFC and the staff, so I think it's just kind of their way of being OK with that."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Khalil Rountree grateful for custom UFC shorts, explains design inspiration