The UFC will make its debut in Baku, Azerbaijan, at the Baku Crystal Hall on June 21. A highly anticipated light heavyweight bout between former champion No. 4 Jamahal Hill and No. 7 Khalil Rountree Jr. headlines the event. Since it is in Baku, the Main Card has a special start time of 3:00 p.m. ET.
Hill realized his dream of becoming UFC Champion in January 2023 against Glover Teixeira. But since then, many obstacles have occurred. Hill has suffered two straight knockout losses to Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka while undergoing multiple serious injuries. If Hill wants to climb the mountain top again, a victory against Rountree is necessary. But even though Rountree isn’t a decorated champion like Hill’s past opponents, he is still as dangerous as they get.
Rountree is also coming off a loss to Pereira, but it was a different story. In that fight, Rountree made Pereira feel his power and was up on the scorecards 29-28 when he was finished. Rountree has won five of his previous six fights, with four coming by knockout. His recent loss was his first since January 2021. The odds have been moving throughout fight week, but Hill and Rountree currently are both -110 on DraftKings Sportsbook.
This card features an exciting lightweight bout between Azerbaijan’s own, No. 11 Rafael Fiziev vs. Ignacio Bahamondes in the co-main event. This is a quick turnaround for Fiziev since he last fought at UFC 313 on March 8. Fiziev suffered a defeat against Justin Gaethje in his previous fight and hasn’t won a bout since July 2022. Although he is on a three-fight losing streak, Fiziev’s schedule has been challenging. Fiziev has fought Gaethje twice and Mateusz Gamrot.
Even though Bahamondes is 6-1 in the UFC and has finished his last three opponents, he is still unranked in the lightweight division. But he is shooting for the stars as he can enter the top 15 with a victory over Fiziev. Bahamondes is a matchup nightmare for Fiziev on paper. He is taller by six inches while having a four-inch advantage in reach. Bahamondes is a -148 favorite, as Fiziev is +124 on DraftKings Sportsbook.
After losing to Tom Aspinall in an Interim Title bout, Curtis Blaydes returns to the Octagon 11 months later. Blaydes will face UFC debutant Rizvan Kuniev in a three-round heavyweight bout. Even though Kuniev is making his UFC debut after a KO/TKO win on Dana White’s Contender Series, he is on an 11-fight unbeaten streak. Blaydes is a -258 favorite while Kuniev is the +210 underdog.
The Prelims start at 12:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+, with the Main Card beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET on ABC. Check out the entire 12-fight card below.
Main Card | 3:00 p.m. ET | ABC/ ESPN+
| Matchup: | Records: | Weight Class: | Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook: |
| #4 Jamahal Hill vs. #7 Khalil Rountree Jr. Main Event | 12-3 (6-3 UFC) vs. 14-6 (9-6 UFC) | Light Heavyweight | -110 vs. -110 |
| #11 Rafael Fiziev vs. Ignacio Bahamondes | 12-4 (6-4 UFC) vs. 17-5 (6-2 UFC) | Lightweight | +124 vs. -148 |
| Tofiq Musayev vs. Myktybek Orolbai | 22-5 vs. 13-2-1 (2-1 UFC) | Lightweight | +130 vs. -155 |
| #5 Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev | 18-5 (13-5 UFC) vs. 12-2-1 | Heavyweight | -258 vs. +210 |
| Nazim Sadykhov vs. Nikolas Motta | 10-1-1 (3-0-1 UFC) vs. 15-5 (3-2 UFC) | Lightweight | -395 vs. +310 |
| Muhammad Naimov vs. Bogdan Grad | 12-3 (4-1 UFC) vs. 15-2 (1-0 UFC) | Featherweight | -258 vs. +210 |
Prelims | 12:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+
| Matchup: | Records: | Weight Class: | Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook: |
| #12 Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Azat Maksum | 16-2 (5-1 UFC) vs. 17-1 (1-1 UFC) | Flyweight | -455 vs. +350 |
| Ismail Naurdiev vs. JunYong Park | 24-7 (3-1 UFC) vs. 18-6 (8-3 UFC) | Middleweight | +160 vs. -192 |
| Daria Zhelezniakova vs. #15 Melissa Mullins | 9-2 (1-1 UFC) vs. 7-1 (2-1 UFC) | W Bantamweight | +195 vs. -238 |
| Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Mohammed Usman | 6-0 (1-0 UFC) vs. 11-4 (3-2 UFC) | Heavyweight | -162 vs. +136 |
| Seokhyeon Ko vs. Oban Elliott | 11-2 vs. 12-2 (3-0 UFC) | Welterweight | +350 vs. -455 |
| Irina Alekseeva vs. Klaudia Sygula | 5-2 (1-1 UFC) vs. 6-2 (0-1 UFC) | W Bantamweight | -285 vs. +230 |
