The UFC breaks new ground this week when it holds its first fight card in Baku, Azerbaijan. That event, UFC Baku, takes place on Saturday, June 21 at Baku Crystal Palace and features a main event between former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill and recent UFC 205-pound title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr.

UFC Baku airs on ABC with an early start time of 2 p.m. ET. The prelims begin at noon ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

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UFC Baku Main Card

Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. – Light Heavyweight
Rafael Fiziev vs. Ignacio Bahamondes – Lightweight
Tofiq Musayev vs. Myktybek Orolbai – Lightweight
Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev – Heavyweight
Nazim Sadykhov vs. Nikolas Motta – Lightweight
Muhammad Naimov vs. Bogdan Grad – Featherweight

UFC Baku Preliminary Card

Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Azat Maksum – Flyweight
Ismail Naurdiev vs. Park Jun-yong – Middleweight
Melissa Mullins vs. Daria Zheleznyakova – Women’s bantamweight
Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Mohammed Usman – Heavyweight
Seokhyeon Ko vs. Oban Elliott – Welterweight
Irina Alekseeva vs. Klaudia Syguła- Women’s bantamweight

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UFC Baku Main Event: Jamahal Hill Vs. Khalil Rountree

Jamahal Hill

Jamahal Hill (12-3-0-1) had a 5-0 record when he appeared on a Dana White Contender Series card in July 2019. He won that fight against Alexander Poppeck by TKO in the third round. The victory earned him a UFC contract.

Hill made his official UFC debut in January 2020, winning a decision over Darko Stosic on the main card of an ESPN+ event at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. He then faced Klidson Abreu in May 2020. He initially won that bout by first-round TKO, but the result was later overturned to a no-contest because Hill tested positive for marijuana

He followed that fight with a December 2020 TKO over former interim light heavyweight title challenger Ovince Saint Preux.

Hill’s unbeaten streak ended in his next trip to the Octagon, when Paul Craig ended their June 2021 fight in under two minutes by TKO.

Hill bounced back from that loss by rattling off three straight “Performance of the Night” bonus-winning knockouts. That run earned him a shot at then-champion Glover Teixeira. Hill put on a striking clinic in that fight, battering Teixeira over five rounds to earn a one-sided decision win and the UFC 205-pound crown. That fight headlined UFC 283 in January 2023.

Misfortune ended Hill’s title reign. In July 2023, he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon during a UFC fighter basketball game. He relinquished the title and underwent surgery to repair the injury.

Hill returned at UFC 300 in a matchup against UFC light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira. Pereira ended that fight via knockout at the 3:14 mark of the first round.

Hill returned to the Octagon at UFC 311 when he faced former champ Jiri Prochazka on the main card. Prochazka ended that bout via TKO at 3:01 of Round 3.

Hill, the No. 4 ranked UFC light heavyweight, has seven wins by knockout and five decision victories. His three losses have come via knockout.

Khalil Rountree Jr. (13-6-0-1) joined the UFC in July 2016 when a loss to Andrew Sanchez in the season finale of The Ultimate Fighter dropped him to 4-1 as a pro.

A submission loss to Tyson Pedro followed Rountree’s defeat to Sanchez. However, Rountree went 3-0-0-1 after that setback, scoring three knockout wins in his victories. A knockout loss to Johnny Walker, who Rountree was favored to beat, ended his unbeaten streak.

A decision victory over Eryk Anders in April 2019 got Rountree back in the win column, but a TKO loss to Ion Cutelaba and a decision setback against Marcin Prachnio followed.

In September 2021, the UFC matchmakers booked Rountree against Modestas Bukauskas. He won that scrap via TKO. That win was the first of five consecutive victories for Rountree.

Rountree was scheduled to face former UFC light heavyweight champ Jamahal Hill in June, but a self-reported drug test failure knocked him from that card. The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Rountree 4.5 months for that drug test failure.

When Rountree returned to action it was at UFC 307 in the main event of the pay-per-view card opposite then-UFC 205-pound champion Alex Pereira. Pereira battered Rountree before ending the fight via TKO in the fourth round.

Rountree has nine knockout wins and four decision victories. His losses have come by knockout (three), submission (one) and decision (two). He is the No. 7 ranked competitor in the UFC’s 205-pound weight class.

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We will have more on the UFC Baku fight card and the Hill vs. Rountree fight as fight night nears, including betting odds, picks, predictions and more. As well as full fight card results, reactions and highlights on fight night.