Jamahal Hill suffers third straight UFC defeat as Khalil Rountree claims dominant win in Baku main event

Khalil Rountree put on an impressive performance to outpoint Jamahal Hill at UFC Baku on Saturday night.

Hill never really provided any major threat to Rountree, who dominated his American counterpart over five rounds to claim a unanimous decision win.

Rountree’s leg kicks proved pivotal in the main event of UFC BakuCredit: GettyRountree looked the more technical fighter throughout the entire fight, as Hill struggled with pain in his right leg following several brutal calf kicks from his opponent.

Two judges ruled the contest 50-45 in Rountree’s favour, with the third giving Hill a round and scoring it 49-46.

Rountree asserted in his post-fight interview that he wants to be a UFC champion, having lost a light heavyweight title fight to Alex Pereira in his last appearance eight months prior.

He has now been victorious in six of his previous seven UFC bouts, and will have his eyes on a top five ranked opponent next.

READ MORE MMA NEWSFormer champion Hill, meanwhile, has now endured three UFC defeats in a row, having dropped the light heavyweight title to Pereira at UFC 300 in April 2024 before being stopped by Jiri Prochazka nine months later.

A slow opening round witnessed Hill remain calm to try and avoid a repeat of his previous two first-round knockout defeats.

Rountree found success with some heavy leg kicks, which would prove pivotal as the bout went on.

In the second, Hill’s calf looked very sore as Rountree’s team had urged the the California native to work the legs of ‘Sweet Dreams’ to make his opponent’s attacks less efficient.

A largely actionless first 10 minutes began heating up when Hill found confidence in the third, trying to avoid the obvious pain in his calf, which looked like a beaten up tomato by this point.

However, Hill soon found himself on the canvas, and he was dropped for a second time in quick succession when Rountree landed a clean right hook.

Rountree dominated Hill in the main event of UFC BakuCredit: Getty

He asserted his ambitions to become a UFC champion after the fightCredit: GettyRountree was cruising in the championship rounds as UFC commentator Michael Bisping credited the No. 7 ranked light heavyweight for his clinical display.

He started to put more emphasis into his punches as time went on, but Hill, in all fairness, fought on, knowing he needed to produce something special to switch the momentum in his favour.

‘Sweet Dreams’ then came out for the fifth and final round needing something and anything to leave Baku with any sort of pride.

However, Rountree knew he was clearly ahead on the judges’ scorecards and held on by circling Hill on the outside to claim the decision, and win the main event on the UFC’s first appearance in Azerbaijan.

Rountree emerged through The Ultimate Fighter in 2016 before embarking on a five-fight win streak between 2021 and 2023 to cement his name as one of the best at 205 lbs.

His win means he will likely leapfrog Hill to become the UFC’s No. 4 ranked light heavyweight, with only Carlos Ulberg, Prochazka, Pereira, and the champion Magomed Ankalaev above him.

This means that the 35-year-old Californian is now likely just one fight away from being rewarded with a second shot at UFC gold.

Ankalaev won the title by claiming a unanimous decision victory over Pereira at UFC 313 in March, and the latter was expected to be thrust straight back into a rematch with the new Russian champion.

However, after several verbal exchanges between the pair, and Pereira seemingly being frustrated with UFC bosses, that rematch has yet to come to fruition.

This has put Prochazka in prime position to fight for the belt next, with Pereira also revealing last week that he is now walking around at a monstrous 249lbs.

Pereira’s current weight has led many MMA fans to believe that he is preparing to move up to the heavyweight division in preparation for a fight with Brit Tom Aspinall, who has been calling for an undisputed bout with Jon Jones for months to no avail.

That bout may be more likely now, as UFC CEO Dana White revealed Jones had retired after UFC Baku, declaring Aspinall as the undisputed heavyweight champion

If Pereira was out of the picture, Rountree could be matched up against New Zealander Ulberg, who defeated Jan Blachowicz at UFC London in March.

Then, if Ankalaev fought Prochazka, the winner of a mouthwatering clash between Ulberg and Rountree would likely get a title shot.

Read More on talkSPORTHowever, Pereira told MMA Fighting on Friday that he is focused on remaining at light heavyweight, so the most likely scenario would be a rematch against Ankalaev.

This could match Prochazka and Ulberg in a fight, meaning Rountree may potentially have to go through another title eliminator bout before he gets his second attempt at a UFC title.