MMA Knockout

Khalil Rountree Jr. dismantles ex-champ Jamahal Hill in UFC Baku headliner

"The War Horse" put on arguably the most impressive performance of his career at UFC Baku.

Drew Beaupre

(Zuffa LLC)

The UFC's first trip to Azerbaijan closed out with a headlining matchup between top-ranked light heavyweights Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr.

A former UFC light heavyweight champion that relinquished his title due to injury, Hill came up short in his bid to reclaim the belt against Alex Pereira before being stopped by Jiří Procházka late in their fight at UFC 311.

Rountree took a five-fight win streak into his own title bid against Pereira at UFC 307 but was stopped in the fourth round of a bout that earned "Fight of the Night" honors, and "The War Horse" took some time off to recover from that loss before returning to face Hill in a rescheduled matchup at UFC Baku.

READ MORE: UFC Baku Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. free live stream results & highlights

Rountree Batters Hill At UFC Baku

The UFC Baku headliner followed a highly-anticipated co-main event between Rafael Fiziev and Ignacio Bahamondes, which saw Fiziev snap a three-fight skid and defend his spot in the lightweight rankings when he took a unanimous decision victory.

Rountree slowly walked forward with his hands down once the fight initially kicked off, and it took nearly a minute before either light heavyweight really committed to a strike.

Things picked up considerably after the opening minute, and while both men began landing leg kicks it was Rountree who seemed to land with quite a bit more impact. Hill mixed his punches up to both the head and body of his opponent, and "The War Horse" largely focused on big counter combinations when the former champion moved into his range.

The two men got right back to striking in the second round, and a nasty low kick from Rountree looked to seriously damage Hill's right leg and encouraged "Sweet Dreams" to start walking forward in an effort to avoid eating any more kicks.

READ MORE: UFC prelim fighter repeats fatal error made by Jon Jones

Rountree was happy to start punishing Hill's left leg once the former champion began switching stances, and after a fairly slow-paced start to the third round things began to heat up again when "The War Horse" dropped Hill with an overhand left and then ended the round with another big knockdown.

Hill continued to struggle with his opponent's leg kicks and left hand while failing to create any fight-changing moments of his own in the final two rounds, and after 25 minutes of action Rountree was awarded a clear unanimous decision in what was perhaps the most impressive showing of his UFC career thus far.

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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