UFC Baku: Hill vs. Rountree Jr. Fight Card, Predictions, & Odds

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill takes on the former title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. on June 21 for the headliner of the UFC Baku card at the Baku Crystal Hall in Azerbaijan.

Despite being the division’s former king, Hill will be the betting underdog with +115 UFC odds because of his two-fight losing skid. Meanwhile, Rountree Jr. heads into this all-important clash as the -140 betting favorite.

Check out the preview and prediction of this exciting light heavyweight battle below.

UFC Baku: Hill vs. Rountree Jr. Odds

• Jamahal Hill: +115
• Khalil Rountree Jr.: -140

UFC Baku: Hill vs. Rountree Jr.: Prediction

It’s an interesting battle between two known strikers and power punchers, but I predict that Hill would win the unanimous decision over Rountree Jr. because I believe that he’ll be more cautious in going toe-to-toe against him and fully utilize his reach and height advantages in this match.

Hill lost his two previous fights because he failed to maximize his kicks and footwork, much like he did against Glover Teixeira. His head kick was very successful in that match, and it’s time to bring it back against Rountree Jr.

Rountree Jr. is also an equally impressive striker as Hill because of his solid Muay Thai background. The enormous power behind his punches even gave Alex Pereira several problems during their match, and I expect him to bring it against Hill in this bout, especially in the opening stages.

However, “Sweet Dreams” can fight on the outside and keep “The War Horse” at bay throughout their match. Additionally, Hill has the option to take Rountree Jr. down the mat to try and drain significant energy away from him in the grappling exchanges.

Jamahal Hill’s Recent Fight Results

Hill’s route to the UFC was through the Dana White Contender Series in July 2019, where he scored a second-round stoppage win over Alexander Poppeck to secure a roster spot. In January 2020, he made his octagon debut and won against Darko Stošić unanimously.

Then, he won four of his next six fights to earn his shot for the UFC light heavyweight crown in January 2023 against Teixeira. Hill dominated the Brazilian legend to bag the unanimous decision victory. Since then, he has dropped his last two fights to Pereira and Jiri Procházka.

Khalil Rountree’s Recent Fight Results

Rountree Jr. came through The Ultimate Fighter 23, where despite losing to Andrew Sanchez in the finale, he was still able to crack a spot under the Las Vegas-based promotion. He first competed in the heavyweight division before moving down to the light heavyweight division in 2018 and has found success since.

“The War Horse” had a five-fight win streak from September 2021 to December 2023, which earned him a shot at the UFC light heavyweight crown against Pereira last October at UFC 307, but he came up short with a fourth-round TKO defeat.

Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.: Tale of the Tape

Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. Fight Card

• Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr., light heavyweight match
• Rafael Fiziev vs. Ignacio Bahamondes, lightweight match
• Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev, heavyweight match
• Tofiq Musayev vs. Myktybek Orolbai, lightweight match
• Nazim Sadykhov vs. Nikolas Motta, lightweight match
• Muhammad Naimov vs. Bogdan Grad, featherweight match
• Seokhyeon Ko vs. Oban Elliott, welterweight match
• Ismail Naurdiev vs. Junyong Park, middleweight match
• Daria Zhelezniakova vs. Melissa Mullins, women’s bantamweight match
• Irina Alekseeva vs. Klaudia Sygula, women’s bantamweight match
• Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Azat Maksum, flyweight match
• Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Mohammed Usman, heavyweight match