The UFC is set to venture into brand-new territory this summer with its promotional debut in Azerbaijan.
On Friday, the UFC announced a collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan and the Baku City Circuit Operations Company to bring a Fight Night event to the Baku Crystal Hall on June 21.
The upcoming event will be headlined by a high-stakes clash between top-ranked light heavyweight contenders Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree.
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The pair were originally slated to meet in the main event of UFC Kansas City on April 26, but the bout was scrapped last week after Hill withdrew due to an undisclosed injury.
“Sweet Dreams” last stepped into the Octagon at UFC 311 this past January, where he was stopped by former champion Jiří Procházka via a third-round knockout. That defeat came on the heels of another setback at UFC 300 in April 2024, where Hill’s bid to reclaim the 205-pound crown ended in a first-round finish at the hands of Alex Pereira.
Meanwhile, Rountree Jr. is also looking to rebound from a knockout loss at UFC 307 last October, where he challenged “Poatan” for the light heavyweight title. Prior to that bout, “The War Horse” was riding a five-fight winning streak.
Hill and Rountree Jr. were initially slated to square off at UFC 303 in June 2024, but the matchup was called off after “The War Horse” tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid DHEA, resulting in a 4.5-month suspension.
UFC Baku will see the long-awaited return of former RIZIN double champ Kyoji Horiguchi, nearly nine years after his last UFC appearance. “The Typhoon” is set to face No. 10-ranked flyweight contender Tagir Ulanbekov.
The Azerbaijan event now features the following confirmed fights:
- Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree: light heavyweight
- Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Tagir Ulanbekov: flyweight
- Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev: heavyweight
- Ismail Naurdiev vs. JunYong Park: middleweight
- Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Mohammed Usman: heavyweight
- Irina Alekseeva vs. Klaudia Sygula: women's bantamweight
- Daria Zhelezniakova vs. Melissa Mullins: women's bantamweight