UFC Baku Gains Jamahal Hill-Khalil Rountree Headliner, Adds Horiguchi vs. Ulanbekov

AZERBAIJAN, ARE YOU READY??@JamahalH vs Khalil Rountree Jr. headline the first-ever UFC Baku on June 21 👏

Tickets on sale April 25 | Learn more: https://t.co/caJbrV3t2d
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AZƏRBAYCAN, HAZIRSAN ?@JamahalH və Khalil Rountree Jr. 21 iyun tarixində baş tutacaq ilk UFC… pic.twitter.com/qwhW8YtXmF

— UFC (@ufc) April 11, 2025

The framework is quickly underway for the Ultimate Fighting Championship to make a splash in the half-Asian, half-European nation of Azerbaijan.

According to the promotion on UFC on Friday, the main and co-main events are on the books for UFC Baku, which is set to go down on June 21 in Baku, Azerbaijan. In this nation bordered on the east by the Caspian Sea, fight fans will be treated to a rescheduled main attraction of Jamahal Hill (12-3, 1 NC) vs. Khalil Rountree (13-6, 1 NC). The co-headlining spot will go to the returning Kyoji Horiguchi (34-5, 1 NC) against Tagir Ulanbekov (16-2) in a pivotal flyweight affair. Combat will take place at the Baku Crystal Hall, and it is not currently clear whether this will be a Fight Night offering or one that plays out on the ESPN or ABC networks.

In addition to the newly announced pairings—Ariel Helwani first broke the news that Horiguchi was coming back and that Ulanbekov was likely to be his opponent—the organization confirmed that the heavyweight pairing of Curtis Blaydes (18-5, 1 NC) vs. Rizvan Kuniev (13-2-1) has been rebooked for this fight card. Additionally, Darya Zheleznyakova (9-2) vs. Melissa Mullins (7-1) at 135 pounds is on the preliminary lineup.

Hill will be looking to return to the win column after a pair of knockout losses to Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight strap and Jiri Prochazka in a potential title eliminator. The graduate of Dana White's Contender Series—who became the first fighter to come up through that system and win a UFC belt—worked his way up the ladder the last couple years courtesy of knockouts over Jimmy Crute, Johnny Walker and Thiago Santos. The subsequent decision victory against Glover Teixeira earned Hill the gold strap, one he willingly vacated after suffering an injury.

Former title challenger Rountree is coming off of that championship excursion against Pereira in October 2024. Suffering a knockout at the hands of the Brazilian in Round 4, Rountree found his five-fight win streak snapped violently. As he rose up through the ranks, “The War Horse” knocked out names like Anthony Smith and Chris Daukaus as he found some stability in his weight class. That five-fight win streak measured as the longest of his career.

After leaving the UFC on a three-fight win streak in 2016, Horiguchi returned to Japan, where he largely dominated the Rizin Fighting Federation scene. During his time with Rizin, Horiguchi sustained a single defeat—avenged in the rematch—to Kai Asakura, while amassing 15 victories. He also dabbled in the Bellator MMA ranks, becoming one of a select few fighters to claim belts simultaneously across two major organizations, Rizin and Bellator.

Ulanbekov returned from over a year off in January, where he captured a decision over Clayton Carpenter to push his win streak to three. After six walks to the Octagon, the Dagestan native has only fallen short once in a battle against grizzled vet Tim Elliott. On the winning side of his ledger, Ulanbekov celebrates an early win over Asu Almabayev, while beating names like Cody Durden and Bruno Silva in the UFC thus far.