Jamahal Hill was defeated by Khalil Rountree Jr in a unanimous decision in the main event of UFC Baku in a rare Saturday afternoon show.
With ABC broadcasting the event in America and a monstrous time difference of at least nine hours between local time and the United States, UFC Baku was aired during the day. It still meant for a main event that didn’t kick off until well after 1.30am local time.
Third time was a charm for Hill and Rountree, who had twice before been booked to fight before the ex-champion had been forced out with injuries. But they failed to deliver as they went the entire five round distance on a difficult night in Baku.
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Jamahal Hill vs Khalil Rountree Jr UFC Baku result
A big performance was needed from either Jamahal Hill or Khalil Rountree Jr heading into Saturday’s clash, with the rest of the night proving almost an entire sleep-inducing disaster. All but two undercard bouts went to decision, piling pressure on the two headliners as the clock ticked towards 2am.
However, they were both tentative early as they stood and looked for opening in a bit of a technical chess match. It took until the second for Hill to start landing with regularity, as he put pressure on a Rountree who seemed lethargic from the jump.
The former champion loaded up on his leg kicks as the fight continued, and it appeared to be paying off as he slowed down Rountree’s movement. But midway through the third a big kick from Rountree floored Hill in a shock moment that threatened to change the tide of the fight.
Indeed, from there Rountree was able to find the punches he had been looking for and managed to put Hill down again. It ended up being very much a fight of two halves as Rountree completely took control and made it the distance, with the crowd feeling he had done enough.
The pair didn’t touch gloves at the start of the fight, but they embraced and shared an intense verbal exchange after the final bell. Eventually, the judges gave two 50-45 scorecards to Rountree as he won a comfortable decision.
Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr had been booked multiple times
The main event for UFC Baku was one that was familiar to fight fans, having been booked twice in recent years. First of all, Hill and Rountree were due to battle in the co-main event of UFC 303, back when that card was set to be Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler.
Unfortunately, Rountree was forced out of the fight after unwittingly ingesting a banned substance and informing the UFC. Carlos Ulberg was drafted in, but Hill proceeded to suffer two tears in his meniscus, a sprained ACL and a Baker’s cyst.
They were then matched up for UFC Kansas City back in April, but Hill was again injured and the entire main event was scrapped. Instead, Ian Machado Garry brutalized Carlos Prates in the newly-scheduled showdown.