The UFC’s first ever trip Azerbaijan was a success. The card saw some standout finishes from Myktybek Orolbai and Nazim Sadykhov, as well as very fun main and co-main events as Khalil Rountree Jr. and Rafael Fiziev both got their hands raised. With UFC Baku now in the books, let’s look at who the winners should face next.
Khalil Rountree Jr.
Khalil Rountree Jr. said he unlocked newfound confidence in himself after his admirable showing in his title fight against Alex Pereira last fall. As he was facing another former champion in Jamahal Hill, Khalil put on a striking clinic, earning a wide unanimous decision. He destroyed Hill’s base with leg kicks, which took away Hill’s ability to generate power. Once the danger coming back was lessened, Khalil then started firing combinations up top and knocked Hill down multiple times on his way to the best win of his career.
After he defeated Jan Blachowicz in March, I thought Carlos Ulberg was almost guaranteed to face Jiri Prochazka next. But we are now in June and nothing has been announced on that front. This is a case where fighting styles might determine which direction the promotion goes. Ulberg’s more point-fighting approach could cost him the Prochazka fight since the idea of Prochazka clashing with Rountree Jr.’s style sounds a lot more appealing.
Rountree Jr.’s next fight: Jiri Prochazka
Rafael Fiziev
He had to wait a long time, but “Ataman” finally got his hand raised again. Only three months removed from his war with Justin Gaethje in March, Fiziev this time had to deal with the surging youngster Ignacio Bahamondes in the UFC Baku co-main event. Despite the gigantic height and reach disadvantages, Fiziev earned 30-27s on all three scorecards.
A Mateusz Gamrot rematch or a fight with Benoit Saint Denis are both fine options, but I’m more intrigued in Gamrot fighting the Frenchman. Dan Hooker is also a very fun option, but I still think there’s a chance they simply re-book the Gaethje fight. I believe Fiziev’s next opponent will come from this from upcoming weekend’s fight between Beneil Dariush and Renato Moicano. Fiziev is in a good spot to face the winner of that bout.
Fiziev’s next fight: Dariush/Moicano winner
Curtis Blaydes
This fight was originally scheduled for February, but after multiple delays, Curtis Blaydes and Rizvan Kuniev finally faced off inside the octagon this weekend. Blaydes did get back in the win column, but he didn’t exactly do it via an awe-inspiring performance. He got teed off on on multiple occasions during the fight and narrowly escaped with a split decision. Bouncing back after his quick KO loss to Tom Aspinall last summer was key, but Blaydes will need a better showing than this if he wants to insert himself back in the title picture. Fellow veteran of the game Marcin Tybura is ranked only three spots below Blaydes and has won back-to-back fights. He seems like a prime candidate to face him next.
Blaydes’ next fight: Marcin Tybura
Myktybek Orolbai
The 27-year-old prospect earned a nice submission victory over a very well-respected veteran in Tofiq Musayev, in the latter’s promotional debut at UFC Baku. He might have been making his promotional debut, but hardcore fans know how good Musayev is, so this makes Orolbai’s win all the more impressive coming off his war with Mateusz Rebecki last October.
Orolbai’s previous fight was at a catchweight of 160 lbs, this one was at 165 lbs. He did make the lightweight limit against Elves Brener, but back-to-back catchweight fights tells me it would probably be preferable for Orolbai to simply make the move to welterweight. There are a lot of feasible opponents for him at 170, but I went with Ramiz Brahimaj who is coming off a nasty guillotine choke finish of Billy Ray Goff last month.
Orolbai’s next fight: Ramiz Brahimaj
Nazim Sadykhov
Nazim Sadykhov got his second knockout win of 2025, this one over Nikolas Motta. From veterans like Nasrat Haqparast or Chris Padilla, to younger names like Charlie Campbell and Tom Nolan, the lightweight division isn’t lacking in names that “Black Wolf” could face. I landed on Manuel Torres, in part because I believe the timing could work for the Noche card in September. It’s also a matchup that would guarantee fireworks and would tell us a lot about which prospect to move up the ladder.
Sadykhov’s next fight: Manuel Torres
Muhammad Naimov
Naimov earned 29-28s across the board at UFC Baku to win his second consecutive fight since being upset by the then debuting Felipe Lima a year ago. Now 5-1 in the UFC, the fighter from Tajikistan seems just a couple good performances away from a shot at the rankings. A fighter in a similar position, who is also on a two-fight win streak, is the young Brazilian Gabriel Santos. Since dropping his first two fights to ranked contenders Lerone Murphy and David Onama, Santos has put on encouraging showings in the following two outings. This matchup would determine who gets to inch closer to a ranked name.
Naimov’s next fight: Gabriel Santos
