UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr.
| UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | June 21, 2025 | |||
| Venue | Baku Crystal Hall | |||
| City | Baku, Azerbaijan | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr. (also known as UFC on ABC 8) is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on June 21, 2025, at the Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan.[1]
Background
[edit]
A light heavyweight bout between former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jamahal Hill and former title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. is scheduled to headline the event.[2] 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.[3][4] 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.[5][6]
The co-main event will 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 will make his promotional return for the first time since November 2016.[7]
A heavyweight bout between former interim UFC Heavyweight Championship challenger Curtis Blaydes and promotional newcomer Rizvan Kuniev is scheduled for this event.[8] The pairing was originally scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Song,[9] 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.[10][11] The bout was later rescheduled for UFC Fight Night 256 but was subsequently moved to this event for unknown reasons.[12]
Another couple of fights were also scheduled for UFC Fight Night 256 and moved to this event due to undisclosed reasons: a middleweight bout between Park Jun-yong and Ismail Naurdiev[13][14] and a heavyweight bout between Hamdy Abdelwahab and Mohammed Usman.[15][16]
Fight card
[edit]| Main card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Light Heavyweight | Jamahal Hill | vs. | Khalil Rountree Jr. | ||||
| Flyweight | Tagir Ulanbekov | vs. | Kyoji Horiguchi | ||||
| Women's Bantamweight | Irina Alekseeva | vs. | Klaudia Syguła | ||||
| Women's Bantamweight | Dariya Zheleznyakova | vs. | Melissa Mullins | ||||
| Heavyweight | Hamdy Abdelwahab | vs. | Mohammed Usman | ||||
| Middleweight | Ismail Naurdiev | vs. | Park Jun-yong | ||||
| Heavyweight | Curtis Blaydes | vs. | Rizvan Kuniev | ||||
Announced bouts
[edit]- Lightweight bout: Rafael Fiziev vs. Ignacio Bahamondes[18]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Nihat Kərimli (2025-03-21). "BREAKING: UFC to be held in Azerbaijan on this date". offsideplus.az. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
- ^ Mike Bohn (2025-04-10). "Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree headlines UFC's debut in Azerbaijan". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
- ^ Staff (2024-05-19). "Khalil Rountree out of UFC 303 due to banned substance". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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)
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Alexander K. Lee (2024-12-13). "Curtis Blaydes' return set for UFC Seattle". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Harvey Leonard (2025-03-08). "Two UFC 313 fights canceled hours before the event, including Curtis Blaydes' return". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2025-03-08.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Harvey Leonard (2025-03-23). "Latest UFC Fight Announcements Featuring Rose Namajunas, Paul Craig, And More". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
- ^ Michael Aldon (2025-02-26). "Brother of Former UFC Champion Fighting to Save His Career". yardbarker.com. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ Harvey Leonard (2025-04-06). "UFC Matchmaking Bulletin: New Fights For O'Malley, Garry, Kape, And More". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
- ^ "UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
- ^ Andrew Richardson (2025-04-12). "Lightweight banger alert! Rafael Fiziev vs. Ignacio Bahamondes added to UFC Baku". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2025-04-12.
