Khalil Rountree Parents: What Happened to UFC Star's Father? All about his family and early life

Khalil Rountree Jr. grew up without his father. The UFC light heavyweight star was raised by his mother and older brother, who, it must be said, did a great job. After all, “War Horse” faced more than his fair share of obstacles and hardships in his life. Weighing over 300 pounds and being a quiet, shy boy with his own unique style of clothing, Rountree was predictably an easy target for bullies.

But all that changed when his brother introduced him to mixed martial arts and agreed that they would train together. And the rest, as they say, is history. Today, the 34-year-old is one step away from becoming a UFC champion and reaching the top of his career. Although his father was not in his life, he also played an important role in making him who Rountree is today.

What happened to Khalil Rountree Jr.'s father Roderick Rountree?

“My father had a great life. He was a very respectable man and he did a lot for the people around him… “A lot of what I learned about my father came from the stories other people told about him… I just always had that in the back of my mind when I was looking for inspiration to be a man.” Rountree once said.

Khalil Rountree Jr. was just two years old when his father Roderick 'Khalil' Rountree was shot. That means the California native never knew his father and had to figure out what it meant to be a single man with the help of his brother. And what a role model Roderick would have been.

In addition to being the longtime manager of the Grammy-winning R&B group Boyz II Men, Khalil's father was also a well-respected member of his community. Shockingly, he was murdered at the Gold Coast Hotel in Chicago in 1992 while on tour with the group.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Roderick was killed as he went out to investigate a disturbance in the hallway by three unknown men. To ensure things didn't escalate, Khalil led the three men into an elevator in hopes of getting them out. And that was the last thing he would do in his life – try to keep the peace and make sure there were no problems, another indication of what kind of man he was. Roderick never managed to get out of the elevator. He was shot by three suspects as the doors closed.

But that wasn't the story Khalil was told by his mother. Fearing the emotional impact it would have on young Khalil, Khalil's mother told him that Rountree Sr. had died due to illness. Eventually, when Khalil was eleven or thirteen, he would find out the truth.

The truth confused him as he felt his father had been betrayed. War Horse has spoken about how this led to a very real anger that he carried with him for a long time. And like many teenagers who go through such a traumatic revelation, Rountree could have reacted and ended badly.

But his father saved him from this fate. Khalil fondly remembered how people, often strangers, would come up to him and tell him how his father had helped them. Just hearing what kind of guy his late father was was enough for the UFC star and he was determined to follow his father's example. Luckily, he had the rest of his family to help him become the person his father would be proud of.

Everything we know about Khalil Rountree's mother, brother and family

Khalil Rountree Jr. had two other role models who kept him on the right path: his mother and his brother. His mother, Taryn Moret In fact, it was what drove him to be as successful as possible in MMA. An emotional Khalil admitted after one of his wins that he just wanted to make his mother proud and give her a good life.

But the person who deserves the lion's share of credit for getting Khalil to where he is today is his older brother Donovan Freelow. His older brother not only emerged as the main male role model in Khalil's life after his father's death, but also gave him the motivation to commit to marriage and stick with it, even though Khalil weighed over 300 pounds at the start of his martial arts career.

While Rountree became an athlete almost as an adult, Freelow had always been a sporty boy. Before becoming a mixed martial artist (which he eventually gave up in 2021), Freelow had played football at his high school and at Quincy River College in California. Obviously, Khalil's father had a huge influence on him even after his death, and his family did a commendable job of bridging the gap after Khalil's father's death. What do you think about Khalil Rountree's inspiring life journey?