How to watch UFC Fight Night: Jamahal Hill, Khalil Rountree Jr. battle at Baku
UFC Fight Night heads to Baku Crystal Hall in Azerbaijan on Saturday, featuring a high-stakes light heavyweight showdown between former champion Jamahal Hill and the surging Khalil Rountree Jr. Both arrive with something to prove.
UFC Baku delivers a stacked card, from Hill vs. Rountree to big names like Rafael Fiziev and Curtis Blaydes, plus rising Azeri prospects fighting at home. This is one of 2025's most loaded Fight Nights. Clear your schedule.
Advertisement
ESPN+ will also have coverage of the main card and prelims. ABC is available over the air with a broadcast antenna.
Hill's long-awaited return from an Achilles injury hit a brutal snag in April 2024 when he ran into Alex Pereira's piston of a left hand at UFC 300. The first-round knockout was a jarring return to the octagon. Now, following another loss at UFC 311 in January, Hill is back in the hunt, aiming to reestablish himself as one of the division's most dangerous technicians.
Across the cage, Rountree enters with momentum. A string of knockouts earned him a title shot against Pereira at UFC 307, where he pushed the champ into the fourth round before a vicious liver shot ended the night. He left with Fight of the Night honors — a loss on paper, but a career-defining performance.
Expect nothing less in Baku. It's a classic clash of styles: Hill brings pressure and volume, wearing opponents down with pace. Rountree is torque and timing, a sniper who doesn't throw often but rarely misses. It's not a title eliminator, but it feels like one. With a shallow contender pool, the winner gains serious leverage.
Streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo of Khalil Rountree Jr.: Jeff Boatari / Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
26 minutes ago
- USA Today
Nikolas Motta vs. Nazim Sadykhov prediction, pick, start time for UFC on ABC 8
Nikolas Motta and Nazim Sadykhov meet Saturday on the main card of UFC on ABC 8 at Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. Last event: 5-1 UFC main cards, 2025: 57-44-1 Nikolas Motta vs. Nazim Sadykhov UFC Baku preview Motta (15-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) enters his first fight of the year on the heels of back-to-back wins in 2024. Last January, he finished Tom Nolan in the first round, followed by a unanimous decision over Hayisaer Maheshate. The hard-hitting lightweight has finished 10 of his 15 victories by KO or TKO. ... Sadykhov (10-1-1 MMA, 3-0-1 UFC) has only suffered one defeat in his career, which came in 2018. Since then, he's gone unbeaten, winning 10 and drawing once – the only time he's reached the scorecards in the UFC. In his last outing in February, Sadykhov won a doctor's stoppage TKO over Ismael Bonfim. Nikolas Motta vs. Nazim Sadykhov UFC Baku expert pick, prediction Serving as a solid action fight at lightweight is a battle between Nazim Sadykhov and Nikolas Motta. Sadykhov, a savvy southpaw who has long been hailed as a prospect by the legendary Serra-Longo camp, has followed his stablemate Merab Dvalishvili to Las Vegas to train with coach John Wood and the Syndicate MMA crew. This change hasn't appeared to be drastic for Sadykhov, but the Azerbaijani native is one of many fighters on this card with a more deceptive resume than meets the eye. Aside from the fact that Sadykhov lost two rounds to Evan Elder and Viacheslav Borschev without having to suffer a single loss, the 31-year-old tends to find himself in deceptively close fights where either cuts or scorecards have arguably bailed him out. Motta, on the other hand, had a handful of bad performances early on in his UFC career that came amid a slew of camp changes and short-notice bookings that subsequently caused everyone from the bookmakers to the gamblers to continually disrespect his chances despite his recent results. Motta is still a kill-or-be-killed fighter for the most part, but the Brazilian has made some measurable improvements to his overall game since splitting his time between his home bases of Xtreme Couture MMA and Bangtao Muay Thai. Now, Motta appears to be in the best shape of his life, showing more tools at range and improved pacing and grappling. Motta also shows the style of leg kicks and shoveling body shots that previous Sadykhov opponents have found success with. Don't get me wrong: Sadykhov is the deserved favorite and no one should be shocked if he replicates the murder scenes that Manual Torres and Jim Miller made before him. That said, we can't ignore the fact that power is a potent two-way street, and Motta has way too much of it for Sadykhov to be this heavily favored with his fast-and-loose style. For that reason, I suspect that the southpaw killer that is Motta's left hook will be live for as long as this fight lasts. A decision win isn't totally out of the question, but I'll take an unpopular flier on Motta to shock the world by catching Sadykhov cold in round 1. Nikolas Motta vs. Nazim Sadykhov UFC Baku odds The oddsmakers and the public heavily favor the hometown fighter, listing Sadykhov -430 and Motta +320 via FanDuel. Nikolas Motta vs. Nazim Sadykhov UFC Baku start time, how to watch Motta and Sadykhov are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 3:40 p.m. ET. The fight broadcasts on ABC, ESPN and ESPN+.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Myktybek Orolbai vs. Tofiq Musayev prediction, pick, start time for UFC on ABC 8
Myktybek Orolbai and Tofiq Musayev meet Saturday on the main card of UFC on ABC 8 at Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. Last event: 5-1 UFC main cards, 2025: 57-44-1 Myktybek Orolbai vs. Tofiq Musayev UFC Baku preview Orolbai (13-2-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) will look to rebound from a streak-ending split decision loss to Mateusz Rebecki at UFC 308. Although he walked away with a loss, the Fight of the Night bonus helped ease the sting. Prior to the close setback, the Kyrgyzstan-born lightweight won eight straight, including his first pair of UFC bouts against Uros Medic and Elves Brenner. Orolbai has finished his opponent in 11 of his 13 wins. ... Musayev (22-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut. The Rizin and Bellator veteran comes in on a two-fight winning streak with stoppage of Akira Okada and Koji Takeda. A proven finisher in the lightweight division, 20 of Musayev's career wins 22 have come by stoppage. Myktybek Orolbai vs. Tofiq Musayev UFC Baku expert pick, prediction Despite being shifted to a catchweight bout at the eleventh hour, Myktybek Orolbai vs. Tofiq Musaev is one of the fights I'm looking forward to most on this card. Orolbai, who looks like he belongs in the background of a Dave Rickels walkout, is a large and durable lightweight who can fight in all phases of the game. Musaev isn't too far behind in the power or size department, but I believe the Sanda specialist could be in for a rough night if he's not able to seriously hurt Orolbai early. Even though Orolbai will give Musaev ample opportunities to hit him on the feet, the native of Kyrgyzstan's insane durability and drive are difficult to deny. Add in the fact that Orolbai has more directions to take this fight (as well as more ways to win it), and I can't help but side with the favorite to roll in this spot. Given the lack of depth in Musaev's ground game, I'll go ahead and pick Orolbai to win by submission in Round 2. Myktybek Orolbai vs. Tofiq Musayev UFC Baku odds The oddsmakers and the public favor the fighter from Kyrgyzstan, listing Orolbai -168 and Musaev +136 via FanDuel. Myktybek Orolbai vs. Tofiq Musayev UFC Baku start time, how to watch Orolbai and Musayev are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 4:10 p.m. ET. The fight broadcasts on ABC, ESPN and ESPN+.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
UFC 316 'Fight Motion': Harrison, Dvalishvili title wins in super slow motion
Check out the craziest highlights from Newark in super slow motion UFC 316 earlier this month in Newark, N.J., featured some stellar stoppages – and in a rarity, two of them came in title fights. Bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) easily took care of former champ Sean O'Malley (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) in a rematch with a third-round submission. And massive betting favorite Kayla Harrison (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) showed why the confidence was so high in her when she submitted women's 135-pound champ Julianna Peña (13-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) in the second round – and arguably made it look easier than her past dominance in the PFL when she was fighting 20 pounds heavier. The UFC 316 "Fight Motion" video cameras caught all the highlights in Newark in super slow motion. You can check out the action above.
