UFC Baku headliner Khalil Rountree Jr. made an opponent pay for their confident pre-fight remarks.
Before this year’s edition of UFC International Fight Week in Las Vegas, the promotion is set for a debut event overseas.
The Octagon is in Azerbaijan for the first time, where Jamahal Hill and Rountree Jr. will conclude UFC Baku in a key clash of top light heavyweight contenders.
Rountree Jr. lost to Alex Pereira in his first title shot at UFC 307 last year. He’s now looking to immediately bounce back and make a statement to reinsert his name into the championship picture.
And he could certainly do worse than to replicate the destructive performance he put in on July 7, 2018.
Khalil Rountree Jr. ran through Gokhan Saki after having his striking laughed off
Following back-to-back knockouts against Daniel Jolly and Paul Craig, Rountree Jr. had his momentum stalled in late 2017 by Michal Oleksiejczuk, whose decision win was later overturned to a no contest.
Not many were predicting ‘The War Horse’ to get back to his powerful striking finishes given who he was matched up with next at UFC 226: former kickboxing world champion Gokhan Saki.
The Turkish-Dutch fighter was just two bouts into his MMA career, but Saki had announced his UFC arrival in brutal fashion, stopping Henrique da Silva in one round on debut.
Despite his inexperience, ‘The Rebel’ wasn’t short on confidence, especially given how he viewed Rountree Jr.’s stand-up game.
“You ever see someone drowning in the water? They hit wild everywhere,” Saki told TheMacLife. “That is his striking.
“The only thing he can do is hope for luck. A lucky strike. But with me, this hope for luck, is like hoping to win the lottery. Keep hoping, you will only fool yourself.”
Those comments came back to bite Saki.
Come fight night, Rountree ran through the kickboxing star, dropping him with a straight left before closing the show with hammerfists on the ground after just 96 seconds. Saki has not competed in MMA since.
Khalil Rountree Jr.’s UFC Baku opponent hasn’t won in over two years
Hill won four fights consecutively between 2021 and 2023, with the final victory on that run seeing him dominate Glover Teixeira to win the vacant UFC light heavyweight belt.
But after a serious injury cut the American’s reign short, he’s been unable to recapture his best form and regain the 205-pound gold.
Hill’s first-round knockout against Alex Pereira last year provided a brutal setback, before Jiri Prochazka stopped him late in their clash this past January to deal a further blow to the 34-year-old’s title hopes.
With those results in mind, a return to the kind of displays that saw him dispatch the likes of Johnny Walker and Thiago Santos is essential for Hill in Baku on Saturday.
Champion Magomed Ankalaev is yet to face both Hill and Rountree Jr., meaning the winner at UFC Baku could find himself with another chance to return to the throne sooner rather than later.