Main Card
- Khalil Rountree Jr. def. Jamahal Hill via Decision, Unanimous
- Rafael Fiziev def. Ignacio Bahamondes via Decision, Unanimous
- Curtis Blaydes def. Rizvan Kuniev via Decision, Split
- Myktybek Orolbai def. Tofiq Musayev via Submission, Kimura (RD 1, 4:35)
- Nazim Sadykhov def. Nikolas Motta via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:17)
- Muhammad Naimov def. Bogdan Grad via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card
- Ko Seok-hyun def. Oban Elliott via Decision, Unanimous
- Park Jun-yong def. Ismail Naurdiev via Decision, Unanimous
- Darya Zheleznyakova def. Melissa Mullins via Decision, Unanimous
- Klaudia Sygula def. Irina Alekseeva via Decision, Unanimous
- Tagir Ulanbekov def. Azat Maksum via Decision, Unanimous
- Mohammed Usman def. Hamdy Abdelwahab via Decision, Unanimous
Khalil Rountree Jr. bounced back from his unsuccessful light heavyweight title bid with a dominant five-round stand-up performance on Saturday night.
The seventh-ranked 205-pound fighter was in full control of his fight against former champ Jamahal Hill for 25 minutes of action this weekend, earning him a near-shutout unanimous decision win on scorecards (49-46, 50-45 & 50-45).
Rountree Jr.’s win came in front of a rather muted live crowd at the Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan, closing out the UFC’s first-ever trip to the country.
A varied attack on the feet from Rountree Jr. left Hill, a slight favorite in the bout, fighting from behind early.
Rountree Jr. was quick to target the lead right leg of southpaw Hill in the opening round, blasting the limb with thudding kicks. It didn’t take long for Hill to show damage due to these shots, getting wobbled a few times in the second round after consuming kicks.
As an uncomfortable Hill had to frequently switch stances to avoid Rountree Jr.’s hard kicks, he was also met with solid boxing.
A counter left hook from Rountree Jr. dropped Hill early in the third round, then a right hand put him back on the canvas just a few minutes later. Rountree Jr. later also put together a two-punch combo for a knockdown in the fourth round.
Hill responded with his own punches and connected enough to stay in the fight. But, while Rountree Jr. had a series of big moments in the fight, it’s hard to argue that Hill had any strikes that carried the same level of significance.
Despite his success in all five rounds, Rountree Jr. wasn’t pushing hard for a finish. The fight went back down to a pedestrian pace in the final moments, as Rountree Jr. seemed fine to cruise to a scorecard win that had been essentially guaranteed by that point.
Roundtree Jr. mentioned afterward that his patience was intentional.
“The plan was to be smart,” Rountree Jr. said in his post-fight interview. “I made some mistakes in the Alex [Pereira] fight. This one, it’s like, hey man, I get to make different decisions. I got to do what I gotta do, and then if I’m winning the round, I can secure that and be a smart, professional, championship-level fighter.”
35-year-old Rountree Jr. was appearing for the first time since that aforementioned title fight loss to Pereira last October, where the Brazilian stopped him in the fourth round of a tough stand-up battle.
Before then, Rountree Jr. had put together five wins in the UFC, including four via stoppage.
He’s expected to climb a few spots in the official light heavyweight standings after getting past fourth-ranked Hill.
Hill has gone winless since an out-of-competition injury forced him to vacate the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in 2023, ending his reign before he could defend the belt once. He recently also lost a title shot to Pereira in 2024, then was stopped in a fight against fellow ex-champ Jiri Prochazka in January.
Rountree Jr. is ready for anything after his latest win. With his eyes still set on eventually obtaining UFC gold, he’ll take any fight that will help get him to that point.
“For me, if I had to fight [champion] Magomed Ankalaev next, I would do it. If I have to fight somebody in between that, I would do it. But whatever gets me closer to getting that belt.”
Saturday’s card in Azerbaijan had a total of 10 decisions out of 12 fights. Among the more interesting bouts that went the distance was Rafael Fiziev’s gritty three-round performance against Ignacio Bahamondes in the co-main event, earning the Azerbaijani fighter his first victory in nearly three years.
