The UFC heads to Azerbaijan for the first time in history as the country will host UFC Baku on June 21 headlined by light heavyweights Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree.
UFC CEO Dana White and Minister of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan Farid Gayibov made the announcement on Thursday.
“Azerbaijan and the city of Baku have an incredible history of hosting massive global sporting events. We have so many great athletes from in and around this country that it was a natural next destination for us. I’m excited to have our debut event there on June 21,” White said in a statement.
UFC fighters such as Rafael Fiziev have called for the promotion to make their way to the country for some time now, and they get their wish this June.
Headlining the event will be former UFC light heavyweight champion Hill and former title challenger Rountree Jr.
Hill (12-3) was supposed to face Rountree Jr at UFC Kansas City, but fell out due to injury. He’ll look to snap a two-fight losing skid at UFC Baku. The former champion holds victories over Glover Teixeira, Thiago Santos, and Johnny Walker to name a few.
Rountree Jr (13-6) will step into the octagon for the first time since losing his title challenge against Alex Pereira at UFC 307. The loss snapped a 5-fight win streak so a victory over Hill could get him right back into the title picture.
Making his return to the octagon will be Kyoji Horiguchi who signed just days ago and will face Tagir Ulanbekov.
Horiguchi (34-5) was last in the UFC in 2016 before moving onto RIZIN FF and becoming a bantamweight champion there before also grabbing the Bellator 135lb title. More recently, he returned to flyweight, becoming RIZIN’s inaugural champion there.
Other bouts scheduled for UFC Baku:
- Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr
- Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
- Ismail Naurdiev vs. Jun Yong Park
- Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev
- Mohammed Usman vs. Hamdy Abdelwahab
- Irina Alekseeva vs. Klaudia Sygula
UFC Baku takes place on June 21 in the city of Baku, Azerbaijan at the Baku Crystal Hall. Tickets go on sale On April 25.
