Hill, Rountree set for high-class clash in Azerbaijan

Former UFC Light Heavyweight Championship contenders Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr will have a high-class clash in the main event of a Fight Night, set for the Baku Crystal Hall in Azerbaijan on the evening of Saturday, 21 June 2025.

Hill (12-3, 1 NC) is looking to avoid a hat-trick of defeats, having been stopped by Alex Pereira in a Championship match at UFC 300 in April 2024, and by Jiri Prochazka at UFC 311 in early 2025.

The 34-year-old, nicknamed ‘Sweet Dreams’, has accused his opponent of trying to construct a ‘villain’ narrative after the pair had a stand-off at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas.

“Man, we don’t talk, we don’t say anything to each other… the only time that we did have like an interaction was weird, but yeah, we don’t talk. I was in the PI, like I walked in [...] I say what’s up to anybody, I say hi to anybody,” said Hill.

“You know, and then like I walk in the locker room or whatever, and he is just like, ‘Man, you don’t like me, do you?’ I was like, ‘What?’ He was like, ‘You don’t like me.’ I was like, ‘I don’t even know you.’”

He further added: “Like we don’t have, we haven’t had a conversation. We haven’t had anything. It’s almost like he’s intent on gotta build me up as a villain or as a person that he hates.

“Which is fine with me, but it’s just whenever you start, like, putting the energy off to UFC staff and s*** like that, like, oh we can’t be around each other something’s gonna happen, like you not gonna do s***, so what’s the point of that? It’s weird to me.”

Rountree Jr (13-6, 1 NC) also comes into this clash on the back of a defeat, having been stopped by Pereria in a Championship match at UFC 307 in October last year.

The rest of the main card features Rafael Fiziev v Ignacio Bahamondes in the lightweight division; a featherweight fight pits Muhammad Naimov against Bogdan Grad; Nazim Sadykhov takes on fellow lightweight Nikolas Motta; and Curtis Blaydes takes on Rizvan Kuniev in a heavyweight showdown.

UFC Fight Night: Hill v Rountree – Main card

- Main event: Light heavyweight: Jamahal Hill v Khalil Rountree Jr

- Lightweight: Rafael Fiziev v Ignacio Bahamondes

- Featherweight: Muhammad Naimov v Bogdan Grad

- Lightweight: Nazim Sadykhov v Nikolas Motta

- Heavyweight: Curtis Blaydes v Rizvan Kuniev