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UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr.

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UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr.
The poster for UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr.
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateJune 21, 2025 (2025-06-21)
VenueBaku Crystal Hall
CityBaku, Azerbaijan
Attendance14,424[1]
Total gateNot announced[1]
Event chronology
UFC on ESPN: Usman vs. Buckley UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr. UFC 317: Topuria vs. Oliveira

UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr. (also known as UFC on ABC 8) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 21, 2025, at the Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan.[2]

Background

[edit]
The Baku Crystal Hall hosted the promotion's debut in Azerbaijan, which became the 31st country to hold a UFC event.[2]

A light heavyweight bout between former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jamahal Hill and former title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. headlined the event.[3] The pairing was originally expected to meet at UFC 303 in June 2024, but the bout was scrapped as Rountree withdrew from the event after unintentionally ingesting DHEA in a tainted supplement.[4][5] They were then booked to headline UFC on ESPN: Machado Garry vs. Prates in April, but Hill pulled out due to a lingering leg injury.[6][7]

The co-main event was originally set to feature a flyweight bout between Tagir Ulanbekov and former UFC Flyweight Championship challenger Kyoji Horiguchi (who is also a former RIZIN Flyweight and two-time RIZIN Bantamweight Champion, as well as former Bellator Bantamweight World Champion). Horiguchi would make his promotional return for the first time since November 2016.[8] In turn, Horiguchi pulled out for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Azat Maksum.[9]

A heavyweight bout between former interim UFC Heavyweight Championship challenger Curtis Blaydes and promotional newcomer Rizvan Kuniev took place at this event.[10] The pairing was originally scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Song,[11] then shifted to UFC 313 and eventually cancelled a few hours before the event after Blaydes had to pull out due to an undisclosed illness.[12][13] The bout was later rescheduled for UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Morales but was subsequently moved to this event for unknown reasons.[14]

Another couple of fights were also scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Morales and moved to this event due to undisclosed reasons: a middleweight bout between Park Jun-yong and Ismail Naurdiev[15][16] and a heavyweight bout between Hamdy Abdelwahab and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Peña vs. Team Nunes heavyweight winner Mohammed Usman.[17][18]

Originally slated as a lightweight bout, the fight between newcomer Tofiq Musayev and Myktybek Orolbai proceeded at a catchweight of 165 pounds. Initially there was no indication of why and when the change was made, but both competitors exceeded the lightweight non-title fight limit during the weigh-ins, with Musayev weighing 163 pounds and Orolbai 165 pounds.[19] It was revealed after the event that the change was related to Orolbai not being able to cut all the weight during fight week, therefore moving up the weight limit for the bout.[20]

Results

[edit]
Main card (ABC / ESPN+)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Light Heavyweight Khalil Rountree Jr. def. Jamahal Hill Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 50–45, 50–45) 5 5:00
Lightweight Rafael Fiziev def. Ignacio Bahamondes Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Heavyweight Curtis Blaydes def. Rizvan Kuniev Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Catchweight (165 lb) Myktybek Orolbai def. Tofiq Musayev Submission (kimura) 1 4:35
Lightweight Nazim Sadykhov def. Nikolas Motta TKO (punches) 2 4:17
Featherweight Muhammad Naimov def. Bogdan Grad Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Welterweight Ko Seok-hyun def. Oban Elliott Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Middleweight Park Jun-yong def. Ismail Naurdiev Decision (unanimous) (29–26, 29–26, 29–25) 3 5:00 [a]
Women's Bantamweight Daria Zheleznyakova def. Melissa Mullins Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Women's Bantamweight Klaudia Syguła def. Irina Alekseeva Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Flyweight Tagir Ulanbekov def. Azat Maksum Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Heavyweight Mohammed Usman def. Hamdy Abdelwahab Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
  1. ^ Naurdiev was deducted two points in round 2 due to an illegal knee.

[21]

Bonus awards

[edit]

The following fighters received two $50,000 bonuses totaling $100,000.[22]

  • Fight of the Night: Nazim Sadykhov vs. Nikolas Motta
  • Performance of the Night: Nazim Sadykhov and Nikolas Motta

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Mike Bohn (2025-06-22). "UFC on ABC 8 post-event facts: Azerbaijan debut gets historically long card". Retrieved 2025-06-22.
  2. ^ a b Nihat Kərimli (2025-03-21). "BREAKING: UFC to be held in Azerbaijan on this date". offsideplus.az. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
  3. ^ Mike Bohn (2025-04-10). "Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree headlines UFC's debut in Azerbaijan". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
  4. ^ Staff (2024-05-19). "Khalil Rountree out of UFC 303 due to banned substance". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
  5. ^ Nolan King (2024-05-22). "UFC: Khalil Rountree failed drug test due to supplement company's mistake, suspension reduced to 2 months". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  6. ^ Damon Martin (2025-02-26). "Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. set to headline UFC Kansas City in April". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  7. ^ Mateus Machado (2025-04-01). "Out of action? Jamahal Hill drops out of fight with Khalil Rountree, according to journalist; find out more". tatame.com.br. Retrieved 2025-04-01. (in Brazilian Portuguese)
  8. ^ Andrew Richardson (2017-04-11). "RIZIN champion Kyoji Horiguchi books UFC return opposite Team Khabib's Tagir Ulanbekov at UFC Baku". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
  9. ^ Mike Bohn (2025-05-19). "Kyoji Horiguchi's UFC return delayed, Tagir Ulanbekov gets new opponent in Baku". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  10. ^ Ryan Harkness (2025-03-26). "Fifth time's a charm? Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev moved (again) to Azerbaijan". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
  11. ^ Alexander K. Lee (2024-12-13). "Curtis Blaydes' return set for UFC Seattle". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
  12. ^ Mike Bohn (2025-02-12). "Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev shifted from Seattle to UFC 313 in Las Vegas". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
  13. ^ Harvey Leonard (2025-03-08). "Two UFC 313 fights canceled hours before the event, including Curtis Blaydes' return". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2025-03-08.
  14. ^ Ryan Harkness (2025-03-26). "Fifth time's a charm? Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev moved (again) to Azerbaijan". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
  15. ^ Kang Daeho (2025-02-26). "Park Jun-yong will face Ismail Nourdiev (29, Austria/Morocco) in a middleweight (84kg) match at the UFC Fight Night Qatar on May 17". mk.co.kr. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  16. ^ Harvey Leonard (2025-03-23). "Latest UFC Fight Announcements Featuring Rose Namajunas, Paul Craig, And More". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  17. ^ Michael Aldon (2025-02-26). "Brother of Former UFC Champion Fighting to Save His Career". yardbarker.com. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  18. ^ Harvey Leonard (2025-04-06). "UFC Matchmaking Bulletin: New Fights For O'Malley, Garry, Kape, And More". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
  19. ^ Kyle Dimond (2025-06-20). "Highly anticipated UFC Baku debut receives surprising late notice change during weigh-ins". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
  20. ^ Matt Erickson (2025-06-21). "UFC on ABC 8 bonuses: Nazim Sadykhov's wild war with Nikolas Motta nets each $100K". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
  21. ^ "UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
  22. ^ Alexander Behunin (2025-06-21). "Bonuses! - Nazim Sadykhov and Nikolas Motta get all the money at UFC Baku - $100k each". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2025-06-21.